The Bridges We Burn
by Trappedhearts
Summary: I have nothing left to lose. But they…they have everything to lose, and just like they turned my life upside down, I'm going to tear into theirs.
1. Prologue

**Hey all! So I wrote this story a while ago and posted it on another site. But I figured since I spend a fair amount of time on this site, that I would post it here as well. The story itself is pretty much completed. I have about 3 more chapters left to write so I will post as often as I can. Thhis stroy is based off of a book that I wrote a long time ago and a friend of mine thought it would be cool if I could figure out a way to turn it into a Spashley story and this is the result of that. Please leave feedback if you feel inclined to do so. I love hearing about what other people think. Anyway, enough about that. Enjoy! **

**And for all intents and purposes I don't own SON. I am simply using the characters to tell my story. For now this is rated R, mostly for strong language. If it changes I will let you know. :)**

**Prologue**

Ten years. That's how long I've been in this hellhole. That's how long I've been wasting away in here. Locked away like some caged animal, only to be forgotten by those who used to care, those who used to say that they would always be there for me and never let me down. Man was that a lie! The second things went bad everyone pointed the finger at me and I didn't even do anything wrong. It makes me wonder why I even bothered in the first place. Why I didn't just speak up even though everyone had turned against me.

I used to think that it didn't matter. That what I was doing was in the best interest of everyone involved. After all, I was the screw-up. I was the one with no future. So it made sense that what happened that night was because of me…Right? I mean everything happened so fast. I never saw it coming. I never saw my entire world being turned inside out. I never saw everything that I thought I knew slipping away. I never realized how expendable I really was. But now I know. Now everything seems a little bit clearer than before.

They may have forgotten about me. They may have forgotten about what happened that night. They may have erased me from their memories and shrugged it off as a bad dream. But I never forgot about them. I never forgot about what happened that night. How could I? It plays in my head over and over like a broken record. Every time I close my eyes all I see is that night and I can't forget. I won't allow myself to forget because it wasn't right. None of it was. But they were too scared to face it…they were too scared to know the truth. So they forgot about me and wrote me off. They threw me away like a piece of trash. My family and friends betrayed me in the worst way and now it's payback time. I want them to hurt the way that I do. I want them to see what they did to me. They ruined me and now I'm going to ruin them without even the slightest bit of remorse.

No regrets. That's what my sister used to say. Actually she used to say a lot of things. Things that didn't really have a meaning behind them until I wound up in here. That's when everything started to click and come together. I guess I should have known before this happened that none of them really cared about me. I mean there had to be some sort of sign that I just missed or simply ignored. Maybe I was too naïve. I don't know. But I do know that none of that matters now. What matters is that I'm going home and I'm going to have an entire town afraid of what I might do. You see, it wasn't just my family and friends that wrote me off and put me here. The small town that I live in played a hand in it as well. They were waiting for me to screw up royally because I had become somewhat of a nuisance in the town after my father died. They wanted to put me away. They wanted me to suffer. But they never dreamed that it would come wrapped up in a nice little package. All they knew was the story that was being reported, and the moment they heard what happened is the moment that they pointed the finger at me. It was the moment that I was convicted before my trial ever really began, and it was the moment that an entire town got their wish.

But a lot can happen in ten years. Truths can be revealed and people can change into their complete opposites. I know I have. I never used to be this bitter. I never used to hold such hatred in my heart, but I learned a long time ago that having a heart is extremely overrated. Letting people in is even worse. So, I no longer let anybody get too close. I keep my secrets that I hold deep inside and I share others that can't really be considered secrets because everybody knows about them. I've become a piece of stone molded inside a human body and I like it that way. It's safer and a little more comforting. I've become what everyone expected me to become. I've become nothing.

So as I sit in this cell and stare at the poorly constructed walls with cracks meticulously planted between the bricks, a smile creeps across my face. Not a big smile but a smile nonetheless. And why do I smile? I smile because I'm getting out. I smile because I cannot wait to see the look on their faces when I show up at the annual summer party that's held in the town square. I smile because for once in my life I will not let them win. I've changed a lot. Being in here does that to a person. Makes you tougher and stronger somehow. You learn to fight and to not back down. You learn to gain respect and that's exactly what I've gotten. I've been on my best behavior so to speak, but in here you have to fight to survive. Backing down isn't an option unless you want to wind up being someone's bitch. Not that I'd mind that much either, but it's all about respect and status. Come to think of it, prison could almost be considered a convicts high school. But, instead of cliques you have gangs. People who watch your back and you watch theirs. It's the only way to survive a ten year stretch or any stretch that is longer than thirty days. In a way it makes you feel safer. It gives you a sense of security and makes you feel like you can conquer anything. And believe me; if you can survive ten years in prison, then you can survive just about anything as long as you don't cross anybody.

But now I'm going back to where it all began and I'm going to rock their world. They may have forgotten but they're about to remember in a big way. Their harsh reality is about to come crashing down on them and they're going to be forced to remember. All of them will. Because I won't rest until they do. I won't rest until the truth comes out. I have nothing left to lose. But they…they have everything to lose, and just like they turned my life upside down, I'm going to tear into theirs.

That's all for now.


	2. Chapter 1: Release Day

**Here's Chapter One. Enjoy! **

**I don't own SON I am simply using the characters to tell my story.**

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**Chapter One: Release Day**

You would think that today would be one of the happiest days of my life because I'm finally getting out. But, it's more bittersweet than anything else. For ten years, this place has been all I have known. I don't even know why they decided to let me out. I wasn't supposed to be. I still have five years left on my sentence but they said something about early release due to good behavior. I still don't believe that. But I have my guard up because in situations like mine, you never know if there's something else behind it. My cellmate thinks I'm just being paranoid. Maybe I am. But wouldn't you be if you were put in my situation?

Anyway, I'm getting my stuff together and fixing the bed, making everything nice and neat like it was when I first got here. I don't have much. Just a couple of pictures, a few books, a notebook, a toothbrush, soap, and a few other hygienic essentials. Things to get you through the countless hours and days of boredom that eventually overcomes you. I'm piling everything up on the bed because I'm waiting for my change of clothes and a small bag to put my stuff in. I slowly take the two pictures that I have off the wall and run my figures across them as an exasperated chuckle escapes my throat. I sit on the bottom bunk with the picture in hand and I shake my head. One of the pictures is of my immediate family and the other is of my friends. But regardless of who or what is in them, these pictures encompass everything that I now despise. Everything that I can never get back. Everything that made me into the person I am today.

I'm brought out of my musings by a tap on the door and the buzzer signifying that it's opening. Officer Bateman comes in with some clothes for me to change into and a bag on top to put my stuff in. I put the pictures down for a minute and stand up.

"Here you go. You have an hour to get yourself together."

I take the items from Officer Bateman. "Thanks."

She gives me a sly smile and a nod, then turns around and exits. I swear that woman flirts with every inmate in here which makes you wonder a little as to why. I mean she's cute enough, with her red hair and her green eyes. She always wears her hair up with one strand that goes down the right side of her face. She really is some nice eye candy and she'll do just about anything for us as long as we're behaving, but still. It makes you wonder why she flirts so much. The girls on the block call her Xena. The woman is one tough lady when she needs to be, but mostly she's just there. Like every day. She's one of those guards who can be your best friend or your worst enemy. But whatever. She's a nice lady so no one really gives her a hard time. I guess it all works out. Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah…the pictures.

The pictures that I have come to hate. Every time I look at them I'm immediately filled with anger. I mean severe anger. So, why do I keep them? I keep them because they make me remember. They make me realize the reason I'm in here. Every day I get to look into the faces that betrayed me and remember that soon everything is going to change. Soon, their lives will be the ones that get ripped apart. Soon they'll be the ones to suffer. But before I get out of here let me tell you a little bit about the people in the pictures while I'm getting ready.

They were taken during one of those summer parties in the town square. They were definitely better times when nothing was bad and everything was right. My dad was still alive and the possibilities before us were endless. My sister, Kyla, and I used to be close. We told each other everything and nothing and we were so close in age that we mostly hung out with the same people. I used to look up to her. In some ways I wanted to be her. She was a year older than me, but she was none the wiser. I loved it when she used to think she was all knowing and then crash and burn at the wrong times. But as sweet as she could be, she was a vindictive bitch. She always got what she wanted and didn't care who she hurt in the process. Even if it was me she was hurting.

That summer when everything came crashing down, I was dating a boy named Aiden Dennison. Aiden was every girls dream. He was about six feet tall, brown hair, deep eyes, and had an amazing athletic build. He was cut in all the right places and needless to say, all the girls wanted him and all the boys wanted to be him. But, I had him. Or at least I thought I did until I found out that he was sleeping with my sister behind my back. They never knew that I found out but that's when things started to get interesting. I realized that I didn't really care what they were doing because I wasn't really that into him to begin with. In fact, I don't think I've ever really been attracted to a guy. They were more the easy way out than anything else. So, it didn't bother me that much when I first found out. Come to think of it, I wonder if they're married now. Maybe they have some kids. Maybe they broke up. Who knows? Lord knows I haven't heard from them in the last ten years. I haven't heard from anyone. But it's all the same to me.

Anyway, next up is Glen. He was another one who was good looking, with his dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. Glen and Aiden were always competing over something, namely girls. But, Aiden had me and Glen had Madison Duarte. A beautiful Latina with the attitude to match. What can I say? She was a bitch but at some point she was my best friend. She had always been my anchor. One time she bought one of those necklaces that had a semi-broken heart and on one side it said best and on the other it said friends. Cheesy I know. But we wore those things every day. We were pretty much attached at the hip while we were growing up. But, like everybody else, she betrayed me as well and never thought twice about it.

Which brings me to Clay and Chelsea; the perfect couple. They used to call themselves the black Charles and Diana. Actually, we all used to call them that because they were always so proper, except for when they were letting loose. They dated since middle school and they were pretty much the brains of the group. They excelled in almost anything and we loved them because we could always count on them. Clay and Chelsea were the ones who kept everybody grounded and they brought a little bit of sanity into an otherwise insane world. No matter what I got myself into, they were never judgmental and they always gave the best advice. I thought they would be the two people that I could always count on. I guess I was wrong about that too.

I was wrong about a lot of things. But I've grown up and I'm not as naïve as I used to be. I learned that no matter what you do to pick yourself up, there is always something that can bring you back down. It hurt to watch my friends turn their backs on me when I needed them the most. It hurt to be outcast from my town and my own family. It hurt to be alone for ten years. But as much as all that hurt, and as betrayed as I felt by Kyla and my friends, nothing comes close to the betrayal and hurt that I felt as a result of my mother's actions. I mean she just wrote me off like I never existed. The woman gave birth to me. I was her daughter too and she wrote me off like I was just another useless deduction on her tax return. Seriously! Who does that? I couldn't believe it. I might as well have been the dirt on the bottom of her shoe because to her I was nothing but scum.

For the longest time I used to wonder what my dad would say because he was the only person who had never betrayed me and now he's dead. But even though he's gone, I still feel like he would be cheering me on if he was alive. I feel like he would be the only one standing up for me and walking beside me when the truth finally comes out. I feel like he can be my rock from beyond the grave…and…honestly, that's all I really need to get through this. That is what will give me my strength.

As I finish getting ready, I look at the pictures and I sigh. I don't know what to expect. I don't know if they know that I'm being released. I don't know if they're preparing for the storm that I'm about to bring to them. I don't know anything about them. But, what I do know is that they're all going to get what they have coming to them. They're all going to see the truth for what it is and it is not going to be easy. It's not going to be easy at all.

The door to my cell opens again and Officer Bateman walks in with a gentle smile on her face. I look at her and then I look over her shoulder and I notice three more guards standing outside the cell in the block.

"You ready?" She asks with what I believe is a hint of sincerity in her voice.

I take one last look at the pictures and throw them in the bag. As I'm closing it up I look around the cell and take a deep breath, flinging the bag over my shoulder. I look down to the ground and then my eyes find hers.

"Yeah." I say with a confident nod. "I'm ready."

She smiles and turns around to walk out the door. "Let's go then." She gets to the hall and turns around waiting for me to exit. I leave the cell with my head held high and as I look at all the other inmates, listening to their whistles and calls, a smile creeps onto my face. Taking the final walk down the block, I realize that I am finally ready to face my demons.

_**I, Spencer Carlin, am ready to be remembered**__._

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_That's all for now. Until Next time. :)_


	3. Chapter 2: Where To?

**Here's Chapter 2. These chapters kind of set every thing up but in the ones I post tomorrow things will start to pick up. I hope you enjoy! Read and Review if the mood strikes you :) **

**Oh and Same old, Same old. I don't own SON. Just using the characters for my story. :) **

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**Chapter Two: Where to?**

I'm walking up to the main entrance with Officer Bateman at my side and my gaze hasn't faltered once. I've been staring straight ahead filling myself with confidence. I mean as angry as I am, it is a little intimidating to be leaving what is within these walls. I'm not so sure I know how to live outside these walls anymore because I've been so wrapped up in everything else. But, I'm going to learn if it kills me. Which it very well could do, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. It's time to control my thoughts and my anger and put on a happy face because the last thing I want to do is tip anybody off. I wouldn't want them to know that their therapy is for the birds.

When we reach the main entrance Officer Bateman puts a hand on my arm to stop my forward progress. I look at her a little confused and she just smiles and shakes her head.

"You need to sign out, Spencer."

I look at her perplexed and with one eyebrow raised. In ten years the woman has never called me by my first name. She always uses last names when she talks to us, and right now she looks a little bemused with a smirk playing across her face.

"I knew that." I say acting a little defensive.

"Sure you did." She says laughing slightly and taking the clipboard from the guard at the door. "Here…sign right here."

She hands me the clipboard and I sign my name. When I'm done she smiles that sly smile at me and takes the clipboard back, slightly brushing my hand with hers. I swear I'm on my way out and she's still flirting. Maybe she just secretly wants me. _Huh! In her dreams. _I laugh at that thought and she looks at me a little perplexed. I just shake my head and face front.

The guard at the door makes a hand motion to the guard behind the desk and the next thing I know, the big metal doors are opening up and Officer Bateman is walking through them with me by her side.

As we walk through the courtyard, my eyes are trying to adjust to the sun. It's so much brighter than it usually is. The fresh air and the wide open space are hitting me like a tidal wave crashing on the beach. I take a deep breath in, close my eyes, and try to remember this moment. I try to remember what it's like to be free, while trying not to forget the memories behind these walls.

We're walking up to the big barbed-wire chain linked fence, and as my eyes adjust to the sunlight I look through the gate and I see him standing there leaning against his black Cadillac Escalade with alloy rims and tinted windows, his arms crossed in front of him and a smirk playing on his lips. His hair is jet black and combed back with the aid of a little too much moose. He's wearing khaki pants and a crew neck sweater with a white long-sleeve tee underneath, and he's trying to pull off his best impression of the Fonze. I swear Collin Harris thinks he's a pimp. Either that or he's just an idiot who thinks he's a pimp. I haven't quite figured out which one it is yet. But I will.

We get to the gate and Officer Bateman and I come to a stop. She nods to the guard in the booth and the gate begins to slowly glide open. I turn my head to look at her and she puts her hand on my shoulder.

"Good Luck, Spencer." She says with a smile. "Take care of yourself. Ok?"

I nod my head and laugh slightly. "I will Officer Bateman. Thanks."

And with that I walk away from the prison and the last ten years of my life. The smirk is still playing on Collin's lips as I get closer to him with every step I take. He moves his sunglasses down to the tip of his nose and looks out the top of them. Yep, he's an idiot who thinks he's a pimp all right.

"How's it going, princess?" He says as he gives me a hug.

"Ugh! I hate when you call me that." I say a little over exaggerated.

"Nope…you love it and just don't want to admit it."

"Whatever. I didn't know you were picking me up."

"Well, I'm just full of surprises. Besides, Taylor said that she'd have Matt kick my ass if I didn't take care of you when you got out."

"She did…huh?" I ask with a slight tilt of my head.

"Yup. So you're stuck with me."

"Oh the joy! It's seeping through my veins!" I say a little more dramatically than I should.

He laughs and takes my bag. "Just shut up and get in the damn car already."

I laugh and get into the passenger's seat. Collin starts the car and looks over to me.

"Where to princess?"

"Hell." I say while glaring at him while he lets out a chuckle.

I hate the name princess. It was given to me on the inside by Taylor. When I first got there she said that I looked so fragile that she thought I might break. After a few days, she started calling me princess and it stuck. Just goes to show you the kind of luck that I tend to have. I mean Taylor's great but I could kill her for giving me that name. At least she made it so that only a few people actually use it in reference to me. That's one thing I can be grateful for.

Collin starts the car and begins to pull away from the prison gates. "Ok…Hell it is, then."

As he's pulling away I begin to take it all in. I'm outside those walls and on my way back to the town that dropped me like a bad habit. I look at the clock in the dashboard that reads 11:00am. A smile creeps on my face because I remember what today is and I'm excited about tonight. I remember that I only have eight hours left before the show. Eight hours until the party starts. Which means that I have eight hours to get ready before the wheels start turning. Because in eight hours I'm going to make my presence known.

Oh this is going to be so much fun.

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That's all for now. I will post some more chapters tomorrow so stay tuned :)


	4. Chapter 3: A New Home

**Here's Chapter 3, where Ashley gets introduced. Hope you enjoy!**

Again I don't own anything. Blah, Blah, Blah!

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**Chapter Three: A New Home**

We have about ten minutes left before we reach our destination and so far, the drive is quiet and calm. Collin and I haven't been talking much. I think he is giving me my space to think about things. I can be a real bitch when my thoughts are interrupted for stupid ass reasons. He knows that too. So, I am just sitting here looking out the window, watching the world pass by while Collin listens to his mixed CD. Right now the song Apologize by Timbaland or One Republic or whoever is filling my ears, blaring through the speakers making the windows vibrate from the bass. It's not bad though. I haven't really listened to current music lately, but with this CD, I am definitely getting an education. It has everything from Lonestar to Rhianna, and Daughtry to Jay-Z. It's the most random Mixed CD ever. I swear, but whatever floats his boat. Though it makes you wonder about the Joe Cool, badass thing he has going on.

I reach into the backseat and open my bag a little taking out the book that is lying on top. I turn back around, lay the book in my lap, and open it up, taking out the charm that I've been using as a bookmark. I hold it between my thumb and my index figure, transfixed by what it used to mean and painfully aware of what it means today.

"What you got there?"

I look over to find Collin gesturing to the charm. "Just a charm."

"Yeah? Where'd you get it?" _Did I breathe and give him the impression that I wanted to talk?_

"Madison gave it to me once." I say a little agitated.

"I see." He says putting his eyes back on the road.

We fall back into a comfortable silence and as I look out the window I see the sign. _Welcome to Riverview, Maine. Home of the Wildcats. Population: 350. _I sit straight up and regain my focus as Collin drives into town. It has changed a bit over the last ten years. It looks like it has been , it is the same downtown Riverview that I remember…Wait…why the hell are we driving through downtown? He's going to ruin everything!

"Collin, are you fucking crazy!" I say ducking down in my seat.

"Spencer, relax."

"Relax? I told you to stay on the outskirts of town!"

"No one is even paying attention, Spence."

"Collin, it's a small town." I say looking at him. "EVERYONE PAYS ATTENTION!"

He laughs a little. "You'd be surprised."

"You've lost your fucking mind, Collin…You know that?"

"You'll thank me later, Spence. I promise." He says as he pulls the car over to the side of the road.

I look out the window and see a new building standing tall in the middle of nowhere. I sit up a little bit looking around cautiously. The last thing I want to do is tip anyone off that I'm here yet. That would ruin everything. Collin gets out of the car and walks around to open my door. I get out slowly and stare at the building.

"Where are we?" I ask still a little agitated.

"You're new home." He says grabbing my bag out of the backseat. "Now let's go. We have a lot of work to do."

Walking into the lobby of the building, I notice right away that it is probably the most modern building in this damn town, with its polished marble floors and track lighting in the ceiling. Paintings hanging on the walls, displayed as if they are telling a story from the seventeenth century to today. It's kind of nice and comforting in some odd way. I like art. I'm pretty sure I've read every art book that the prison library has to offer. It is kind of my vice I guess. At least whoever runs this place knows how to decorate.

I walk up to Collin who is standing at the entrance to the main office, swinging the car keys in his hands. He signals to me to be quiet, so I sit in the chair and sigh. I seriously just want to get to the room, take a damn shower, and relax a bit. I have a big night tonight. Collin takes a seat next to me and a few seconds later, I hear someone walking. I look up and I'm immediately floored by the brunette walking towards us. I mean she's gorgeous, with her curly brown hair and deep brown eyes. And her smile. She's smiling like it's the best damn day on earth. Well, it is for me but I am not so sure about her, but her smile is definitely something that I could get used to, not to mention her body, which is currently being covered by tight, form fitting jeans and an AC/DC tee that just barely reaches the top of her jeans. _Wonder what it would take to get her out of them. _Ha! Maybe this won't be so bad after all.

"Collin, it's great to see you again." _We can officially add her voice to the list of things I could get used to. _

I get up and stand next to Collin.

"You too, Miss Davies." She smiles and shakes her head.

"It's Ashley, please. Miss Davies makes me feel old or something." _Sarcasm…Nice. _I give her a little smirk.

Her gaze is brought over to me and our eyes meet. She's blatantly staring right at me, as if she's trying to read me. I mean I know I'm an interesting person but good luck, honey. No one figures me out. Although I wouldn't mind getting a little, up close and personal, if you know what I mean.

"You must be Mrs. Harris?" _On the other hand, maybe it will be bad._

_Mrs. Harris...huh! Right. He wishes._ "And you must be new." I say a little angrier than I should have.

This causes her to look away as her gaze hits the floor. Collin puts his arm around my shoulder and I look at him like he has twelve heads.

"This is Becca." He says smiling to me. _Becca? What the hell? _"She's a little jetlagged from her trip to Europe and apparently a little moody." _Say what now?_

This causes Ashley to laugh. "Well, Becca. It's nice to finally meet you. Collin talks about you all the time."

_He does? Why? That's a little creepy…wait…all the time? How long has he been here? I'm gonna have to ask him that BEFORE I kick him in the nuts._ Collin nudges me and I figure I should at least try and be nice so I extend my hand to her.

"Nice to meet you too."

Her gaze reaches mine again and she takes my hand. I feel something in that small handshake that I am not so sure I like. It's different and it's kind of freaking me out. I pull my hand back as quickly as I can without seeming rude.

"So, what brings you by today?" She asks. Her eyes never leaving mine. _What is this girl trying to do? _

"My cousin put some stuff together for me and I just wanted to see if my package had arrived yet." Collin says with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Ok. Hang on a second and I'll go check."

She turns and walks back into her office and Collin looks at me with a tiny hint of desperation and a small smile conveniently gracing his features. He knows I am agitated. He knows that I do not like the game he's playing, although I will have some fun with it, but he knows we're going to talk about this later. I mean the man has people thinking I'm his wife, his WIFE for Christ's sakes, like that would ever happen.

"Here you go." Ashley says handing the box over to Collin.

"Thanks."

"So…umm…You guys going to the festival tonight?" _Bingo._

"Festival?" I ask curiously.

"Yeah…it's…uh…this big party that they throw every year. It…it's kind of fun." _She's stuttering…how cute._

"I bet." I say smirking slightly.

"Might be a good way to welcome you back from your trip." She says smiling that big, beautiful smile of hers. _Did I mention I could get used to that?_

"Might be." I say giving her a wink, which makes her eyes widen a little in surprise.

Collin notices and speaks up. "Um…we got to get going. We'll see you later, Ashley."

"Yeah….It was nice meeting you Becca." She says getting my attention.

"You too." I say purposely leaning towards her, invading her personal space, as I walk by and make my way to the elevator.

She's just standing there looking at me as the bell on the elevator dings and I turn making eye contact with her once again. Confusion written all over her face. I smile as Collin and I step onto the elevator. The doors close and I laugh as we make our way to the apartment. _Oh…messing with Miss Davies is just going to add to the fun. I cannot wait._

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**That's all for now! Leave feedback and let me know what you think!**


	5. Chapter 4: I'm Sorry, What?

**Here's another chapter for your viewing pleasure :) Enjoy! The next chapter is when Spencer confronts everyone and it's broken up into two parts. I will post part one tonight. And maybe part two if I have time to go back over it first. :)**

**Again I own nothing. Just telling my story and using the characters to do it.**

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**Chapter 4: I'm Sorry, What?**

When we got into the apartment, I have to admit that I was a little floored. This place is fucking huge. It has a wide-open living room with floor to ceiling windows and electronic window coverings to match. There's a fireplace in the corner with candles lining the shelves, and Van Gogh's _Starry Night_ placed perfectly as a centerpiece on the wall. Two chairs and a small table are strategically placed in front of it to provide a nice relaxing vibe to the place. On the other side of the room there are two couches placed to face the wall where a plasma TV has been installed and a glass coffee table in front on a small Venetian area rug. The kitchen is an open kitchen with ample counter space made of marble and a little island in the center and track lighting placed throughout the apartment. There's no doubt in my mind that this place is expensive and if the circumstances were different I may enjoy it a little more. Near the front door there is a small staircase which leads up to the bedrooms. Luckily enough for me Collin had the right state of mind to make sure it had two bedrooms, because I probably would have killed him if he only got one. That is where I am now.

Each of the bedrooms has its own bathroom, and I am up here taking a shower, trying to get ready for tonight. I have so many thoughts running through my mind right now that I think I may go crazy. There are so many different directions that tonight could go in, and I need to make sure it is perfect. _Yeah! Perfect for that sweet brunette you met a couple of hours ago. What I wouldn't give too…Gah! _No Distractions! I can't have any distractions right now. I have to mentally prepare myself for what's to come. I mean I may despise everyone that lives here,_ not everyone…! Jesus, Shut up!_ Anyway, this whole standing up to a town thing is a little intimidating. Tonight it's going to be me against everyone else and I need to be prepared for it. _Whatever…you just want to be prepared for her._

I am just standing here under the water, letting it cascade down my body as my thoughts just keep going. I need to stop thinking about Ashley, but it was almost as if she was trying to look into my soul earlier. _So much for no distractions. Oh, just shut up! _It was a little disconcerting and I'm not so sure I know what to think about it. I mean it's like she can almost see all my secrets. All my built up rage and anger. She was definitely flirting with me earlier, and all I want to do is see what it would be like to have her in my arms, but there's just one problem. Collin has her thinking I'm his friggin' wife!

Speaking of which, I still have not talked to Collin about this whole Becca and being married business, but I will get to it. I still cannot believe that the idiot got a place right in town and apparently, people know him. I swear that sometimes you just have to do things yourself to avoid idiotic decisions from people like Collin. Anyway, you probably want to know a little bit about Collin. Right? Well, he is a member of the gang that I became a part of while I was in prison. Obviously, he wasn't in prison, but the funny thing about gangs is that just because you're on the inside doesn't mean you don't have pull on the outside; and Taylor has that pull. Collin used to visit me and Taylor every other week, and he never faltered once. He really is a good guy who takes it personally, when people hurt the people that he cares about. Collin is my way out right now and at least I have one person to watch my back when the shit hits the fan.

I turn the water off and step out of the shower, wrapping a towel around my body as I make my way towards the closet. I need to wear something comfortable because at some point there's probably going to be running involved. I may be here for revenge, but I'm not stupid. I know once they get their bearings straight they're going to come after me, so being comfortable is a must. I've worked too hard on my plans just to have them ruined in one night. If that means running from a lynch mob then so be it. Besides Collin actually took the time to go and get clothes for me so I might as well take advantage of it. _And maybe impress a petite brunette with eyes you could get lost in. NO! If you say so. Oh just shut the fuck up! _

I decide on a pair of dark, form-fitting jeans and a black, short-sleeve tee that says _Wanted_ across the front of it in big red letters. I grab a pair of black boots out of the closet and put them on as well. Ten minutes later I'm finally dressed and putting on some make-up in the bathroom mirror, because, let's face it, prison makes you a little pale and I want to be alive tonight. _For more than one reason, I'm sure. _I'm wearing my hair down but it has a little wave to it, to give it some bounce. I take one last look in the mirror._ I look HOT! Ashley won't know what hit her! _Jesus, I need to stop thinking about her. _Oh, who the hell am I kidding!_

I grab the black leather jacket Collin got me out of the closet, swing it over my shoulder, and head back downstairs to meet him. As I get to the bottom of the stairs, I see him taking some food out of the oven, and as I walk closer, I stop dead in my tracks. _Forget how sweet he can be, I am going to fucking kill him. _

"Collin, what the hell are you wearing?" I say gesturing to his outfit.

"Umm…" He looks at me and then at his outfit and places the dish on the counter. "A uniform?"

"I can see that, you moron. I want to know why?"

"Oh…Because I uh…have to go to work." _What the hell?_

"Work?" I say stepping closer to him. "As what?"

"I'm doing security for the fair."_ I'm sorry…what? Now I'm pissed._

"I'm gonna fucking kill you…what the hell were you thinking?"

"Relax, Spencer…Don't worry, ok. I had to get in somehow."

"And you thought being a police officer was the best way to go about it?" I say slamming my hand on the table. "I mean seriously, Collin…of all the things." I look back up into his eyes. "Taylor's gonna freak when she find out!"

"Taylor knows, Spencer." He says stepping closer to me and putting his hand on my shoulder. "Look…No one in this town talks about you. I had to find a way in where I could cut everything off before it reached them…being a cop is the only way." He grabs the plates from the counter and goes over to the table. "Now, come over here and eat dinner. We have a big night tonight and you're gonna need your energy."

He sits down and begins eating the chicken and potatoes that he made. I let out a frustrated sigh and walk over to the table sitting down across from him. I pick up the fork and knife and start to eat my dinner. _I wonder if he has any more surprises for me._ After a few minutes, he puts his fork down and reaches into his pocket, pulling out a folded white envelope and sliding it across the table. _I guess he does._

"Here."

I look up at him and slide the envelope towards me with my left hand. "What's this?"

"It's the reason no one knows that you're here." He says as he continues to finish his dinner.

I unfold the envelope and look at the front. It's addressed to the Riverview Police Department from the Maine Department of Corrections. I take the letter out of the envelope and read it.

_May 9, 2008_

_Dear Sheriff Whitely:_

_This letter is to inform you that on the morning of Friday, July 4, 2008, inmate No.7698-0239A, a.k.a. Spencer Carlin, will be released from the Maine Correctional Centre in Windham, ME. This letter is simply a courtesy and is meant to merely inform you of the inmates release back into society, in accordance with the law. _

_If you have any questions or concerns, they may be directed toward the Superintendent of the prison, Scott Bruntwell, or myself, up to ten days before the scheduled release. All inquiries must be made in writing and must be received no later than June 24, 2008. _

_Sincerely,_

_Warden Mark Kramer_

_Warden Mark Kramer _

Once I'm done reading it, I fold it back up and put it on the table. I take a minute to process my thoughts before I respond. I had no idea that they sent out a letter. What else didn't I know? Surely, they understand that I cannot go into this thing blind because it will backfire and I will not have that happen. I cannot have that happen. I look at Collin who is sitting with his hands under his chin, staring at me intently, waiting for my reaction. I know he can see the anger underlining my features. I know that he knows that I am not happy about the situation. I am furious on the inside but I'm trying to keep my composure. I am waiting for an explanation and he knows it. He shifts in his chair a bit and takes a deep breath.

"I know you don't trust people, Spence…but, you need to trust me…otherwise this won't work."

"How'd you get this?" Right now he needs to give me full disclosure_._

"I intercepted it at the station and I replaced it with a different one before anyone noticed."

"A different one?" I say. My voice laced with anger.

"Yeah…We…I mean…Taylor worked her magic and got a fake letter printed up with the same official letterhead and everything. No one knew the difference."

"Where is it? What did it say, Collin."

"It said that you were going to be transferred to the Women's Reentry Centre in Bangor to carry out the last few years of your sentence." He pulls out another envelope from his other pocket and hands it over to me. "Taylor knew you'd be pissed so she made me promise to show you the real letter that the local police department received…so I made a copy one night."

I open the letter up and look it over. Sure enough, it says just what he said it would but I am still not any less angry about the situation.

"How do I know which one they really got? Why should I believe you?"

"Because, Spence. If I wanted to hurt you I would have told them you were coming. If I wanted to hurt you they'd be here right now, banging down the door." He gets up and walks over to me, taking my hand. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you…but you need to let me help you. You can't go up against almost four hundred people by yourself, Spencer. You'll never survive on your own. And if anything happens to you Taylor will fucking kill me herself."

I push my plate away and stand up quickly causing the table and everything on it to wobble, the glasses to tip over, and the chair to fall backwards.

"FUCK!" He's right. Whether I want to or not I have to trust him.

I walk over to the window and put my fingers on the bridge of my nose, squeezing my eyes shut. Collin walks up beside me, standing a few inches away and facing out the window. I can hear the music start to play in the town square and I can see the lights strung throughout the park. The advantage of having this top floor apartment is that you can see the whole town. Collin and I just stand there, looking out the window as he lets me regain my composure. I am fucking beyond pissed at this point. I cannot believe Taylor didn't tell me. I cannot believe NO ONE told me. Best interest or not I need to be in the fucking loop. I mean this is my life we are talking about here. There are not supposed to be any secrets.

"What do you want to know, Spence?" _Jesus, can he read my mind now too._

"How long, Collin? How long have you lived here? How long have you worked here?"

"A year and a half. The people here trust me now. I needed to gain that to get information."

"A Year? And no one thought it was odd that you're _wife_ was never here?" _There's that anger._

"I told them Becca was studying abroad for her last year at school. They just accepted it."

I turn my head to look at him. "What makes you think that they won't make the connection?"

"They won't. No one knows that I know you or have any connection to the prison."

"How'd you pull that one off?" He turns and looks at me.

"My cousin…He hacked into the court records and made my record disappear." _Oh, shit!_

"What about Ashley? You introduced me to her, Collin! She can make the connection!"

"Don't worry about Ashley. She won't say anything. I'll make sure of that."

"How you gonna do that, Collin? You don't exactly have power over her!"

"I have my ways, Spencer." We face back out the window. "Everything is going to go according to plan…I promise."

"It better, Collin…or so help me God I'll…" He cuts me off.

"It will…Now, can we talk about the plan for tonight?"

I sigh heavily and walk closer to the window, peering out at the trees and the people below.

"Go ahead…But this conversation isn't over." I say firmly with the anger still in my voice.

"Ok." He says nodding his head. "Now, about tonight. Here's how it's gonna play out…"

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**That's all for right now. I'll be back with the first part of the next chapter! **


	6. Chapter 5 Part 1: Showtime

**Here's part one of chapter 5. Enjoy! Leave me some feedback and let me know what you think :)**

**Of course, I don't own anything. Just the idea!**

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**Chapter 5.1: Showtime**

Forty-five minutes later and phase one of my plan is about to begin. I can hear the music blaring from the speakers on the stage, as people hurry by, trying to get a seat. It amazes me how people can get all excited over the smallest things. Every year before the fireworks show, they have this mini concert with a local band (Or should I say a local band who thinks they are good). Sometimes, the kids even put something together in an effort to provide some entertainment. Because…really, who can deny the cuteness factor that kids always seem to bring to their brand of entertainment? Nevertheless, the stage is set. There are three big monitors standing tall around the back of the stage, with cameras hooked into them by AV plugs, so that everyone can see the band. There are rows of chairs set-up to seat at least 300 people, and tables set up behind them with refreshments. This town really makes a big deal out of this. But, this time it's going to be used to my advantage. They will probably think that it is some kind of practical joke. But, the joke is going to be on them. They just do not know it yet.

I am lying here in the backseat of Collin's SUV waiting for the perfect moment to get out of the car and make my way over to the party. I am waiting for his cue, because if I go even a second too early, I am going to run the risk of someone seeing me, and what fun is that going to be? It is all about the element of surprise and all the newbie's are about to get an education on just how twisted this town really is.

The secrets we keep become the memories that haunt us, and after tonight it is going to be time for them face up to their crimes and deal with the consequences. After all, what small town doesn't come complete with its own twisted, unspoken past? And this town takes the cake. This town might as well be in the twilight zone, because everyone who has grown up here has some sort of hidden agenda. It might as well be a cult.

A couple more people pass by the SUV and I take a look at my watch. Fifteen minutes until the concert is supposed to start. Fifteen minutes until there is no turning back. If I said I was not a little nervous, I would be lying. Sure, I have been waiting for this moment. Sure, I have been waiting to get the wheels in motion and show this town who I really am. But, that doesn't mean that it isn't nerve-wracking. That doesn't mean that it's not a little intimidating to know that after ten years, I am fifteen minutes away from standing in front of nearly four hundred people who would rather I was dead than about to be standing in front of them. It doesn't mean that the part of me who is still the Spencer from back then, doesn't want to run away and just deal with it. I still carry that Spencer with me, but it no longer dominates. I am so closed off that sometimes I just do not care what happens to me in the future. Like I said before, I have nothing left to lose. I do not owe anything to these people, but they owe me their lives. They lied, they cheated, and they stole my life from me and now I am going to begin taking those things from them. Besides, it is only illegal if you are caught. It is only illegal if you do not have the backing. And it is only detrimental if you have a lot to lose, and I hope that it was worth it to them. I hope that destroying my life made theirs better. Because after tonight there will be no more excuses. After tonight, I want my explanations. I want them to worry and squirm. I want them to feel the way that I feel. I know too much for them not to worry, and that is what is going to make this all worth it. That is what is going to cover my nerves. Because tonight I need to be strong. Not only for myself, but also my father.

I look at my watch again as I hear the Local Police moving everybody out of the street and into the park. I have five minutes left. My nerves are growing stronger and there's butterflies forming in the pit of my stomach, but I will not let it breaks my resolve. I need to do this. I need to make it through tonight without faltering. Without showing them my vulnerabilities. Without letting them get ahead of me. And without any fear.

"THREE MINUTES, EVERYONE!" _That's Collin. _"I NEED EVERYONE IN FRONT OF THE BARRICADES AND OFF THE STREETS! LET"S GO!" _And there's my cue. My signal._

I slowly get out of the passenger's side of the back seat, making sure to be as quiet as possible, as to not arouse suspicion. Once I exit, I crouch down and gently shut the door. Collin has conveniently let a folded, manila envelope slip out of his pocket near the rear of the SUV and I pick it up, because what is in the envelope is important. Once I gather myself, I stand up and look carefully around the back of the car. No one is even facing the street. This is almost too perfect.

I look over to the left of the stage and I see Collin and Ashley in a heated discussion. He is holding her arm and she is not happy about whatever he is telling her. Although I bet it has something to do with me and she probably has no idea what the hell he is talking about. I will talk to him about being less aggressive with her though. And as hard as it may be, I have to get through this without letting my mind wander to her. No matter how much my mind wants to, I cannot care what she thinks right now, because I have officially reached the point of no return. I look back to the center of the stage and I see my mother making her way up to the center where the microphone is strategically placed. The sun has gone down, and where I am standing, by the car, is in complete darkness. The only place that is lit is the stage and that is making this so much more fun. I move out a little further, slowly making my way towards the park and I put the manila envelope in the inside, breast pocket of my leather jacket. I stop once I hear my mother's voice. I am still in the darkness behind the car, unable to be seen by anyone on the other side of the road. And then she speaks. God, after all these years, she is still so full of herself.

"Welcome, everyone, to the annual Riverview Festival." She pauses and they clap. _Come on. _"Before we get the concert started, we are going to take a detour to celebrate a little history. Tonight we celebrate not only our country's birthday, but also a milestone in Riverview history. Tonight we celebrate Riverview's Centennial." _And they clap some more. Jesus, you would think the woman was giving a State of the State address or something._ "Now, over the last one hundred years, Riverview has come into its own, starting as a small little farm town with nothing to offer, and turning into a community where families feel safe and children are nurtured." _Did she get that off a hallmark card or something? _"And as we begin to enjoy this weekend of festivities, we must all keep in mind the hard work and dedication of the Riverview residents who have kept this town alive." _And more clapping. Go figure. _"So without further adieu." _Finally. _"I would like to present to you a history of Riverview through the decades, put together by the senior class at Riverview High." _And they clap as the lights go out. It's show time._

As the monitor's come to life, with the pictures and video's put together by the senior class, I make my way over to the park. Making sure to not make a sound. Making sure that no one is watching me. I look up to the monitor's and I see a picture of my family and friends, which I am conveniently not in, and my anger comes back. About thirty seconds into the video, there's a tape-glitch. It goes out and comes back on and what shows up brings a smile to my face. _Collin pulled it off._ It is a video of a taped conversation between Sheriff Whitely and Mayor Robert Jenkins.

"I don't care what you have to do, Sheriff. You make sure that girl doesn't get out."

"Listen, it's not that simple. I can't just…"

"You can. And you will." My smile gets bigger.

The tape skips revealing a new image.

"We want her banned from this town, Sheriff."

"That girl is nothing but trouble. We'll be doing her a favor."

"You can't just…"

"If you won't do it, we will."

I'm still walking up to the tables slowly. Sheriff Whitely and Mayor Jenkins are trying to shut it off. I don't think anybody knows what the hell is going on. Everybody has moved closer to the stage, leaving the tables unmonitored. Not that they can help it. At this point, they are all transfixed by the screens as the tape skips again.

"I don't care what you say, Sheriff. Spencer is going down for this."

I step up onto one of the tables, bend my right leg slightly, and place my hands on my hips under my jacket, as the monitors go black. Sheriff Whitely frantically turns them back on, and everybody gasps. Instead of the high school video coming back to life, the people in this town are staring at me, through the lens of the camera that is placed front and center on the stage. They see the string lighting behind me and turn to face me slowly. Their eyes widen and their faces go pale.

"You weren't planning on starting this shindig without me…were you?"

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And there you have it! I should be able to post the other part but I'm at work so if I get it double checked before I have to actually do something then I will post!


	7. Chapter 5 Part 2: Some Revelations

**And here's Part 2. I hope you enjoy! I will post more tomorrow! **

**Again I own nothing. **

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**Chapter 5.2: Some Revelations.**

Have you ever made four hundred people go silent? I mean dead silent. So silent that you could hear a pin drop on the grass below. Because if you haven't, I got to tell you that it is a bit exhilarating. All eyes are fixed on me and I know that they are waiting for my next move. A smirk plays across my face as I see them move away. My mother, my sister, and my ex-friends are standing in front of the stage, looking at me with nothing but fear in their eyes. I cannot tell you how long I have waited to see this. I stare at them intently from my position on the table and I love this feeling of power. I love that they have no idea what I am up to. I love that they are finally in the dark.

Everyone is slowly congregating up towards the stage, walking backwards as to not lose sight of me. The Riverview Police Department is standing in a half circle, ready to move, but waiting to see what I do. I realize that Collin is not the only new officer on the force. I can immediately tell the difference between the people who were here then, and the people who have only come here since I went away. The new people have no idea what all of this means. But those that have been here know that this cannot turn out ok. I scan the audience and my eyes find Collin. He makes a small gesture to let me know that he has my back in this. So I move on and my eyes find Ashley's. There's even more confusion written all over her face. I may create a mess tonight, but I will pick up the pieces that are pertinent to me. Or at least the ones that I may eventually want to be important. My gaze goes back to my mother and my sister, and I start to move forward. I jump off the table, and begin to walk right up to them. Never losing eye contact. Never losing my resolve. I am not going to falter. All eyes are still on me and they make a path for me to get to the front. They make a path that leads straight to my mother and those people who I used to consider my friends. For a bunch of people who wanted nothing more than to forget about me, they sure as hell have become mute.

I get up to my mother and I stand in front of her, mere inches away from her face, and I stop. I look her in the eye, forcing her to face me. Forcing her and everyone else in this godforsaken town to realize that they didn't break me. They only made me stronger. She visibly swallows hard and the smirk grows on my face. I reach down and grab the microphone out of her hand.

"You won't need this." I say holding it up for her to see.

I walk past her, purposely bumping into her shoulder and making my way onto the stage. Tonight I will be in the spotlight. I will be the one they pay attention to because somewhere inside of them they know that I can ruin their perfect little image. They know that all I have to do is open my mouth and their names will be ruined. Career's tarnished. Lives burned. But I won't give them everything they are currently searching for. I will not give them all the answers because I want them to squirm. I want them to wonder what I am going to do. So, I will only give them a glimpse. I will throw them a bone and they will see that I am not a child anymore. They will see that they no longer have control over my life.

As I reach the center of the stage and turn to face them, I find that they are staring right back. Their eyes have never left me and for once, I have the upper hand. I put the microphone back on the stand and my eyes scan the crowd.

"Miss me?" I say. The smirk still playing on my face.

They still remain silent and I have to let out a small chuckle because this is just too good.

"I think you all might want to sit back down."

I'm trying to keep my anger inside. I don't want to lose my cool. Slowly everyone starts to sit down after Collin ushers them to the chairs. But, my mother is still standing. Still staring at me. Still trying to read me.

"Spencer?" My mother says breathlessly. And my eyes immediately go back to her.

"She speaks!" I say almost condescendingly. Removing my gaze from my mother and scanning the crowd.

She finally sits down next to my sister. Sheriff Whitely steps up towards the stage.

"Spencer, why don't you come down and we'll go talk in private?"

"I'm sorry, Sheriff. But I don't take orders from you or anybody else in this town anymore. So, why don't you sit down and shut the fuck up."

He moves back a little, but doesn't sit down.

"Spencer, think about what you're doing."

"I have thought about it, Sheriff. I've had ten years to think about it. Ten years to be this town's dirty little secret and I am done. All of you are going to regret the day that you sold me out."

I pull up the stool that was put in place for the drummer and I take a seat center stage.

"Spencer…" There's my mother again.

"I'm sorry, Paula. Did I breathe and give you the impression that I was done speaking?" She looks down to the ground. "I didn't think so."

I take out the manila envelope that I put in my inside, jacket pocket, unfold it and take out the contents as I look back into the crowd, standing up from my seat and placing the document on the stool.

"A centennial is big deal. Especially for this town. It's a hundred years of life, a hundred years of lies, and a hundred years of convenient expendability. Did any of you honestly think that I would just go away? Did you honestly think that I would just let it be? That I wouldn't care?" Screw holding it in, I'm fucking mad. "I mean…did you honestly think that you'd get away with it?"

"Spencer...please…"

"Shut the fuck up! I won't tell you again, Paula!"

I glare at my mother for even thinking about talking. Now is not a good time to piss me off even more.

"Ten years ago, you all thought that you had all of your secrets buried and locked away with me as the scapegoat. Wanting to protect the perfect, hometown image. Family. Community. Service. I mean this place used to read like a fucking hallmark card!" I pause, taking a deep breath. "But, I am the biggest mistake that this town ever made and you want to know why?" I scan the crowd once more. "Because I was expendable…I was the scapegoat that you all used to maintain your perfect little lives. I was the one that you wronged. I was the one that you deliberately gave up and forgot about because it was easier…but, I never forgot…and now I'm back, and there isn't a damn thing that you can do about it."

I pick the paper from the envelope back up off the chair and walk to the edge of the stage. I am trying to regain my composure because I am almost done and I need to finish strong. I keep reminding myself that tonight is just phase one.

"As of this moment, right now, Riverview is closed."

Sheriff Whitely speaks up. "What are you talking about, Spencer?"

"Well, Sheriff." I say jumping off the stage and walking up to him. "As of right now this entire town is a national red flag, which means; no one goes out, no one comes in, and no one gets to walk away!" I hand him the document that is in my hand.

Sheriff Whitely's brows furrow as he reads the document that I handed him.

"How is this even possible? Where's the evidence, Spencer? You have no proof!"

"You aren't the only ones who can manipulate the system, Sheriff. Consider yourselves served!" I wink and walk back towards the road. Through the crowd of people, who no doubt want my head on a silver platter. Their voices are rising as I am walking away from them, heading back to the apartment with a smile on my face.

I wonder how long it's going to take them to crack. I wonder how long it will be before they tear themselves apart. Falling back into a web of deception. Distrusting everyone who crosses their path. When it is their humanity in question, they will all turn on each other. Turning each other in and pointing out their deceptions in the hopes of saving themselves. I may have slightly manipulated the system, but it is only a matter of time before they realize that sometimes getting even is just as sweet as getting revenge. And now, I have to get ready for phase two, because as much fun as trickery can be, blasts from the pasts can be so much better.

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That's all for now. Let me know what you think. Until tomorrow! :)


	8. Chapter 6: No One To Blame

**Chapter 6: No One To Blame**

**Paula's POV**

Tonight was supposed to be perfect. Tonight was supposed to be a celebration of accomplishments and sustainability. But it turned into a revival of this town's secrets. A revival of all pains past. A revival of everything we have been trying to forget. But we should have known better. We should of known that the peace we had finally found within ourselves was not going to last.

I have never seen such rage. Such anger and hate. Such disdain hidden behind the eyes of who used to be my daughter. A daughter that I am sure wants nothing to do with me, and it is not as if I can blame her. She came here tonight with a purpose. She came here tonight on a mission and she was not going to step down. She was not going to back off, and from the second she came on that screen I knew. I knew that she had changed. I knew that she was nothing like the Spencer that went to jail ten years ago. I knew that she hated me and I did not know what to think. I couldn't move. I couldn't think. I couldn't even talk at first. Her voice laced with anger rings in my head and I cannot help but feel a little guilty knowing that I played a hand in that.

Watching her walk away I knew that whatever she is going to do is far from over. I know this is just the beginning and I would be lying if I said that I wasn't a little scared. Family or not, we have become nothing to her and at least that much is evident. No one has left the park since she disappeared into the night. No one knows where she is staying. No one knew she was even coming back.

My daughter, Kyla, is sitting with her friends, with her head in her hands, listening to the people in the town argue over what is going on, and all I want to do is comfort her but I can't. What could I possibly say to make this ok? Where would I even begin to start?

There is not a person in this town who can deny what they saw tonight. There is not a person in this town who wasn't stunned into silence from the second that we saw her. Everyone hoping that it was just a mistake. A dream. Something to maybe lose a little sleep over. Something that could easily be cut off before it got out of hand. But it wasn't. It wasn't anything that was going to go away. The determination. The strength. The pure focus that encompassed her tonight as she stood there, made everybody realize that this Spencer was a force to be reckoned with.

Sheriff Whitely keeps looking over the summons papers that Spencer handed to him, trying to believe what he is reading. Trying to understand the scope of how bad things could really get. And who can blame him? There is not a person who is on that list of defendants that could argue with what is going to happen. There is not a person on that list who can con their way out of it. No one can get away, and Spencer seemingly has us right where she wants us. She has us right where she needs us, because she knows that this time, she holds our lives in her hands. She didn't even have to say anything before the people who weren't here back then knew that something was wrong. They are trying to understand the scope of what occurred here tonight. And what they do not realize is that twenty minutes ago, Spencer Carlin tore a hole through this community and she didn't even have to try.

I am sitting on the edge of the stage just listening to everybody go at it. Confusion on the faces of some and realization on the faces of everyone else. They have all started blending together. Nothing is going to change this. Nothing is going to fix it. Maybe if I had been there. Maybe if I stood beside her, rather than against her. Maybe if I had protected my daughter from everything that happened, then this wouldn't be happening. We wouldn't be in the predicament we are in now. But, things got out of hand. Things spiraled out of control and I couldn't stop it. I couldn't stop the windfall from happening. I couldn't do anything but believe that somehow it would all work out, even though I knew it wouldn't. I threw my little girl away like she meant nothing to me. I caused her beautiful blue eyes to go black. I caused her heart to turn to stone. I helped to make her who she is today and everything inside of her to go dark. It was written all over her face.

"Mom…"

The rage. The anger. The hurt. The betrayal…

"Mom…"

The lies. The pain. The fear….it's all the same. It is not sugar-coated or masked. Its ten years of being forgotten. Ten years of being alone. Ten years of being a secret kept within the confines of a hell that we created just to make ourselves feel better. Ten years that I can never get back.

"MOM!"

"What, Kyla?" I yell without even realizing it.

"Did you know?"_ She sounds as exhausted as I feel._

"Know what?"

"That Spencer was coming back." I look her in the eyes. I see the fear. The uncertainty

"No, Kyla. If I had known don't you think I would have said something?" My anger is now getting the best of me. "You saw her, Kyla! Clearly she didn't want anybody to know!"

"That wasn't Spencer, mom." She says shaking her head. "That wasn't the Spencer that we used to know."

Sheriff Whitely walks up behind Kyla, with Mayor Jenkins at his side.

"What did you all expect? Did you expect her to get out and be happy to see you? To see us?"

He's right. I know he is. What did I really expect? Did I expect her to be the same old carefree Spencer who used to wear her heart on her sleeve? The Spencer that always put other people first? The shy girl that always got embarrassed over the smallest things. The daughter that I raised. The daughter that I used to love.

"I don't know what we expected." Exhaustion now lacing my voice. "Who's on the list, Sheriff?" I ask a little wary of the answer. I haven't seen the papers. I don't have to. But I want to hear it for myself.

"Everyone who was here. It's three hundred names long. Page after page. Name after name. Charge after charge." He pauses. "She didn't leave any stone unturned, Paula. She's serious about this."

"What are the charges?" I need to hear it. I need for him to tell me all of my sins because I need to try and find a way to be forgiven. I need God to forgive me for what I did to my child. My own flesh and blood. But, it doesn't make me any less angry with her. I can't control the anger because I can't control her. Not anymore.

"Wrongful imprisonment. Perjury. Theft. Fraud. Obstruction of Justice. And that's only the tip of the iceberg. Do you want me to go on?"

I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose. "I think I get the picture."

"Sheriff Whitely, I will not have lives ruined because of that girl!" The Mayor says with anger underlying his voice. "You need to take care of this."

"And what is it that you want me to do, Mayor? Did you even see her tonight? She isn't going away and there's nothing that I can do." He shoves the papers in Mayor Jenkins chest. "She went to the fucking Supreme Court for Christ sakes."

He walks away shaking his head, walking around the crowd, and telling everyone to go home. He's right. There is nothing that we can do because we are being watched like hawks. Riverview is currently under a microscope, and in the moment this town should be watched for its hundred years of sustainability, it is being watched for its hundred years of indiscretions.

She timed it perfectly. She made her move and now she is waiting for ours. Beneath her hard exterior, she is lying in wait for one more person to cross her. It was evident in her eyes tonight. It was evident in her demeanor. It was evident in the venom that came with every word that she spoke. She is not letting anyone take the easy way out anymore, and I am terrified.

My daughter has managed to come back home tonight and make me wish that I was not alive. She has made me want to run, because I do not know if I can ever make things right. I don't know if she will ever be able to forgive me or anybody else in this town. I don't know if she will ever come back, from the pain that she carries inside. I don't know if there is anybody that could even attempt to reach the Spencer that she used to be. And I helped them do that.

I helped them take my little girl away, and now, the Spencer Carlin that I raised, is lost in a black hole of vengeance. And I have no one to blame but myself.

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**There you go! Hope you enjoyed. :)**

**Some FOF: **_miluvrox - in this story everything is connected somehow. Spencer and Ashley have more in common then they may realize._

_ slusshy - I'm glad you like it. I like a Spencer with an edge :)_

_ .HEART - I'm glad you're liking it. I'm a fan of mystery. I like to keep people guessing...makes things more interesting. :)_


	9. Chapter 7: Some Things Never Change

**Chapter 7: Some Things Never Change**

**Spencer's POV**

"_Spence…Spencer!" I need to get out of here. I don't want to deal with her right now. _

_I can hear her running behind me so I pick up my speed. I ran out of the house so fast that I don't think she knew what was happening. I didn't even know what was happening. I just knew that I needed to get out of that house. The walls were closing in on me and it was suffocating. I need air. She catches up to me, grabbing my right arm and spinning me around._

"_Spencer, we need to talk about this."_

"_There's nothing to talk about mom. I just want to be alone."_

"_Spence…honey…I know it hurts. I know you don't want to deal with it. But we need to Spence. Me, you, and Kyla…we need to deal with it as a family."_

"_I'm sorry, mom." I look at her. Both of us have tears streaming down our faces. "I just…I can't…Not right now…please." I beg her through the tears, turning and walking away, leaving my mother standing in the middle of the road. _

_I'm walking briskly down the street in the middle of the night, with tears streaming down my face and I can hear her yelling my name, the crying evident in her voice.. Wanting me to come back. Wanting to deal with this as a family. But, I can't. Not right now. Not ever. _

_The yelling has finally stopped. I think she's given up on trying to get me to come back. It's cold and damp from the rain today but I love it. I have always loved the rain. It's comforting and relaxing. The moonlight is casting shadows through the trees and for a brief second I think I can see him. I want to see him. I need to. I need him here with me. How could he leave? _

_I kick a rock in the ground as I get to the entrance of the quarries. The sound echoes through my ears and I realize that I'm alone. Grabbing the fence, I shake it with everything that I am, letting all of my frustrations out with this simple action. I feel so alone. So afraid. So lost. So confused. He was my rock and now he's gone. My father was taken away from me tonight without any warning and I want to know why. He didn't do anything wrong, so why were we being punished? _

_I'm climbing up to the top of the quarries, wanting to look down at the river below. Needing to find some peace. Some sort of comfort. My father used to call this his thinking place. He said that when he was younger he used come up here to clear his head because it was the only way to keep him from going crazy. But, now he's gone. I get woken up in the middle of the night to hear that there was an accident. That he was involved in a hit and run, and I don't believe it. I don't believe it because I know it's not true. _

_I see headlights shine on the rocks below and my chest tightens. I close my eyes hoping that it's a dream. It needs to be a dream. I hear the footsteps getting closer and closer. I move back trying to hide. Trying to figure this all out. I'm scared. The fear is filling me and making me weak. I just keep moving back slowly, trying to get away from the footsteps, but I can't. My backwards progression is stopped by two hands on my shoulders and I turn around so fast that I'm surprised I didn't get whiplash. _

"_Just leave me alone, Sheriff!"My voice cracking from crying._

"_Spencer, we need to talk. I spoke with your mother and…" I cut him off. _

"_I don't wanna talk!" _

"_Spencer…."_

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"…Spencer."

I jump at the hand that is currently on my shoulder, but relax when I realize that it is just Collin. My mind has been reeling for the last two days. Ever since I made my appearance, I can't seem to get it to stop. I haven't even left the apartment. The memories keep coming back and it doesn't hurt any less. I wonder if they even care that I'm an emotional mess underneath my rough exterior that I have spent ten years building.

"Spence, are you okay?" Collin asks, the concern evident in his voice.

I look at him and muster up the best half smile I can.

"I'm fine, Collin. I just need some air. I'll be back in a little while." I say grabbing my jacket off of the back of the couch and hurrying to the door.

"Okay." He says as I shut the door behind me.

The second I step, I stop, close my eyes, and take a deep breath. I let the cool summer air engulf me. It has been far too long since I have been able to enjoy outside activities. Far too long since I have been able to just be outside without a standing time limit. And it feels good.

Every time I think about my father, my chest tightens and I feel like the walls are closing in on me. I need air. It physically hurts for me to think about it but that doesn't stop me. I have to think about it because I'm not just doing this for myself. I'm doing it for him too. If anyone would understand me now it would be him.

As I walk past the park, I see the kids being pushed by their parents in the swings and running around on the jungle gym. If I didn't know any better I would think that they were trying to forget the events of two nights ago. But I know that is not the case. I know that they are just trying to keep up appearances and deal with things as they come. What else are they going to do? It's not as if they can hide. Not anymore.

It is a little refreshing to see the kids playing. They are so young and carefree. No worries in the world. Just having fun. I remember those days. Sometimes I long for those days. You know…the days before my dad died. The days before everything got so out of hand. I'm not going to say that I don't miss my family, because I do. Or rather I miss the idea of my family. I missed what we used to be when our family was whole. But that's lost forever and considering my mother and sister hung me out to dry, I'm not so sure I want one.

"_What do you want me to say, Spencer?"_

"_I want you to say that you believe me, mom!"_

"_Spencer, if you don't…"_

"_I can't believe your taking their side over mine! I'm your daughter and you're just going to let them do this!" She opens her mouth to speak but I cut her off before she gets the chance. "You know what…Just forget it! I don't need you anyway!"_

I can't believe my own mother made me a sacrificial lamb without even batting an eyelash. I used to wonder if she ever hated herself for what she did. I used to wonder if she ever thought about me. If I was really that easy for her to forget. To write-off. When I first went to jail, I thought that maybe she was at home writing me a letter and that she would apologize and tell me how sorry she was. I used to think that she would fight this and come visit me. Hug me again and tell me that everything was going to be ok. That she believed me. That she was here for me. But that never came. None of it came and over time I stopped crying at night. Over time, I stopped caring and eventually I turned into the shell of stone that I am today.

Taylor used to tell me that what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger. And I believe her. She was my best friend while I was in jail. She was the one that got me to stop crying. She was the one that I told that I was gay. Which isn't really much of a surprise I guess in a women's prison. But who knew? I was only seventeen at the time so it was a pretty big deal to me. She watched my back and kept people away from me. She was there and I loved her for it. Now, don't get confused, me and Taylor were strictly friends who were extremely close. That's not to say that I didn't indulge a little with the other inmates. I was with some of them, but…seriously…how much of a relationship can you really have when you are stuck in a five by nine cell for twenty hours a day? Besides, I never wanted a relationship. I never wanted to get too close to anyone else or let anyone else get too close to me. The only person who knew me in there was Taylor and that was only because I trusted her and she never let me down. She never expected anything either which always worked in my favor. She was the only person in that place that I could be myself around. And her friendship was all I really needed to get through.

I'm sitting on a bench in the bandstand in the town square just watching everyone walk by. Some of the people are trying to ignore me. Others look at me and turn away once they realize that I am looking straight back. I don't care. They can do what they want because as uncomfortable as they are trying to make me feel, they aren't even getting close to making me want to leave.

I feel someone watching me and my heart starts involuntarily racing again. _I thought I was trying to stop the pounding. _I look out across the street and I scan the area. I keep looking until I see who is watching me. I find her eyes staring right back at me. Ashley's eyes are boring a hole into my soul. Trying to figure things out. And even though I give her the same look that I have been giving everyone else, she refuses to look away. And it makes me a little nervous. I want to move my eyes away from her but I can't, and I don't know why. I have only known her for three days, and this affect that she seems to be having on me is starting to irritate me a little. I don't understand it. I'm not so sure that I want to understand it.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see a shadow step into the sunlight and I turn my head to see who it is, effectively ending my staring contest with Ashley. And I really wish I hadn't. Because I don't think that I hate anyone as much as I hate this man. He steps in front of me, standing over me, trying to be in the dominant position, and I look up to him.

"We need to talk, Spencer."

"What do you want, Mayor Jenkins?"

"I want you to stop this little game you're playing." He says slightly bending over.

"Game? I'm not so sure I follow." I say feigning innocence. Trying to keep my cool.

I glance around quickly and notice that he's drawn a small crowd. Ashley's still watching and Kyla and Aiden are standing with her. I didn't know that they knew each other. Probably should have figured though. After all, it is a small town. I notice that a few other people from the shops have also come out.

"Spencer cut the crap!" He says raising his voice. "I will not let you ruin three hundred lives!"

"Watch me." Venom in my voice as I stand up so that we are at eye level with each other.

"Listen Kid!" He says grabbing my arm.

"First of all, I'm not a kid anymore. Secondly you have two seconds to remove your hand from my arm before I remove it for you." My glare never faltering, staring into his eyes.

After a few seconds he removes his hand and backs up a bit. He glances around noticing the small crowd that has gathered across the street.

"You can't prove any of it Spencer."

"Wanna put a wager on that, Mayor?" I step closer to him. "Do you really think I'd do this if I didn't have the ammunition?"

"Just leave Spencer!"

"There's no way in hell I'm going to miss all the fun Mayor. Sorry." I smirk and he turns around going down the stairs of the bandstand, mumbling under his breath.

He gets into the middle of the street and he stops, looking around at the people who had gathered outside.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU ALL LOOKING AT?" He yells with his hands in the air.

I can't help but laugh. The man must be desperate to think that intimidation is going to work on me. I have had enough intimidation in twenty-seven years to last a lifetime. Besides, why would I back down after coming so far? These people need to learn a lesson and I'm going to teach them one. Maybe they should have done their homework before they messed with me. Maybe they should not have been so sloppy.

"What was that about?" I know that voice.

I look over and see Ashley with Kyla and Aiden. God they're still attached at the hip after ten years. Somebody gag me. Please.

"Nothing, Ashley. I guess he just wanted to catch up." _Why won't she stop staring?_

Her eyes are so intense. So full of questions.

"It didn't look like catching up, Spencer." She purposely drug out my name. She sounds…angry?

Maybe I should have told her the truth that first day. But, man she's cute when she's mad.

"Yeah…well…he gets a little…involved sometimes." A smirk graces my features.

My eyes are glued to hers, trying to figure out what she's looking for. Her gaze is making me nervous. Making me feel things that I don't want to feel. I should hate this girl for being friends with Kyla and Aiden. And she should hate me.

"Spencer, why are you doing this?" I guess Kyla found her voice. My gaze goes over to her.

"I don't know, Kyla. Why did you lie?"

"All this is going to do is cause more unnecessary pain, Spencer! For once why don't you think about someone other than yourself!" She yells.

I can feel Ashley burning holes into the side of my face. I can only imagine how confused she must be right now. I wonder if they told her what happened. I wonder what she thinks of me if they did, or what she would think of me once she finds out…Wait…why do suddenly care what she thinks? I push that thought to the back of my mind.

"Now why would I do that? It's not like anyone gave a damn about me ten years ago. It's not like you or mom did ANYTHING to stop what was happening…" Now, I'm angry.

"It was your own fault, Spencer!"

"Go to hell, Kyla!" I step closer to her, purposely getting in her personal space. "And tell Mommy dearest I said hello."

With that I turned on my heel and walked away, heading back to the apartment. I swear that Kyla can be so dense sometimes. Like she can't think for herself. You would think that after ten years, she would find a mind of her own or something. You would think that she would open her eyes and see what is right in front of her. Then again she always was one to follow the crowd.

I guess some things never change.

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**And there's Chapter 7! Let me know what you think! :)**


	10. Chapter 8: What the Hell?

**So this will most likely be it for tonight. I will post again tomorrow! I'm glad so many people are reading it. I hope you all are enjoying it as well. :)**

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**Chapter 8: What The Hell?**

**Ashley's POV**

Have you ever thought that you really knew someone and then after one moment you realize that you never really knew them at all? They give you a glimpse into their life. They trust you with their hopes and dreams. Involve you with their friends and just like that…everything changes. All it took was a second. All it took was the moment that I saw Bec…uhh…I mean…Spencer on that screen and I knew that something wasn't right. I have lived in Riverview for three years and in one second, everything that I thought I knew was tossed away like yesterdays trash. Everyone I thought I knew became a stranger, and I realized that I never really knew them at all.

Over the last three years I have built a life here. It might not have been by choice, but it was a life nonetheless. I made friends, managed my mother's new building, got involved in the community which is something that I don't do, and even started taking some courses over at the community college. After a while, I figured that maybe this small town wasn't going to be so bad. I figured that if nothing else, the bonds I have formed here would mean something down the line. But, that idea got shot down three days ago as well.

When Collin first introduced me to Spencer, I knew something was weird by the way she was acting, but I just chalked it up to her being tired. I had no idea that she actually had ties here. I had no idea that she was Kyla's sister. I didn't even know Kyla had a sister. I have been over Kyla's house numerous times and there isn't a single picture with Spencer in it. There's plenty of her and Paula, and I think there is even one of her father. What's even weirder is that I have seen their yearbooks and Spencer is nowhere to be seen. I would've remembered her face if I had seen it. I know I would have. But within this town Spencer is a ghost. This town just erased her as if she never even existed.

And Paula. This is her daughter and you would never even know it. She just erased her from her own family. Erased a girl that she gave birth to and for what? Ever since Friday night the woman hasn't said more than like three words. She walks around as if it's the end of the world. She avoids eye contact with everyone and has barely even left her house. Maybe I'm a little slow, but for fucks sakes, woman! This is your daughter and you simply write her off. Just like that. No regrets. No nothing!

I mean I have made my enemies. I have done things in my past that I am not particularly proud of. I have hurt many people and damaged myself even more, but I have never seen people go to such lengths just to forget someone. I have never seen a group of people try to bury something that cannot be buried.

Seeing her Friday night with the determination on her face, and watching the members of this town go white, I knew that whatever was going to happen was not going to be good. She was on a mission and nothing was going to stop her. I knew it and so did everybody else. She wasn't about to let them forget anymore, and all that did was leave me, and every other person in this town who had moved here in the last ten years, in a bottomless pit of confusion.

They still won't talk about it. Since Friday, I have tried to get it out of Kyla, Aiden, Glen, Madison, Paula, and even Clay and Chelsea. No one will talk. All they keep saying is that it doesn't matter when it so obviously does. They say to just leave well enough alone and just steer clear of Spencer. But, I don't understand why. I don't understand what it is that she possibly could have done to deserve to become extinct in a town that prides themselves on family and community wellness. I want to know what happened. I want to know why everyone around here seemingly has it out for this girl. It just doesn't make sense. None of it does. Maybe that's what is drawing me to her.

This afternoon when I saw her sitting in the bandstand, she looked so deep in thought. I hadn't realized that I was staring until her gaze caught mine from across the street. She looked so indifferent. So tired. I just couldn't take my eyes off of her. Three days ago I thought that she was so crude and I would swear that she was looking me up down like I was some piece of meat that she could eat for dinner. Now, I'm not so sure.

After a minute or so of looking into her eyes, I saw the mayor walk up to her. She closed her eyes and turned towards him. He was towering over her saying something that I couldn't hear but she got this smug look on her face. I was transfixed. I couldn't look away. I didn't even notice Aiden and Kyla walk up behind me.

"_Spencer cut the crap! I will not let you ruin three hundred lives!"_

She just stood up and faced him and her entire demeanor changed. She looked cold and withdrawn and I could tell that she was angry and somehow enjoying every minute of standing up to that pompass ass. Believe me, I am not a fan of that guy.

"Ashley."

I noticed that they had drawn a small crowd and when he left, Spencer's demeanor didn't change. Even when I was talking to her she was still so filled with anger and all I wanted to do was find a way to make it stop. I wanted to find a way to make this whole mess go away. But how could I do that if I didn't even know what was going on? But I do understand one thing. I understand why Collin was so angry with me the night of the party. After he got everybody off of the streets, he came up to me and pulled me aside rather aggressively.

"_Ashley, what the hell are you doing telling people about Becca?"_

"_I didn't think it was a secret" I said trying to get out of his grasp. "I'm sorry."_

"_I swear to God Ashley if you open your mouth tonight, you're gonna regret it."_

"_What the hell are you talking about, Collin?"_

"_Just keep your mouth shut." He says letting go of my arm as Paula begins her speech. "I mean it." _

And I did. I haven't told anybody that Spencer is staying with Collin. Not because I'm afraid of him, but because I don't really see a point in making things more complicated than they already are. Besides, something tells me that telling people that Spencer and Collin know each other would only make things worse. Apparently in this town everything comes down to who you associate with.

"Earth to Ashley?" Oh yeah…Kyla. I forgot I was having coffee with her.

"What Ky?"

"You ok?" She asks softly. "You seem a little…distracted."

I am distracted. I'm too busy thinking about your sister who you conveniently forgot to mention ever existed. I'm thinking about what it is that has got this town so riled up and suddenly mute. I'm thinking about how I don't know who the hell you are anymore. About how you paint this perfect family picture. With the perfect husband and the perfect kid, and yet you disown your own sister. Who by the way you want me to stay away from but won't give me any good reason as to why. Yeah…I would say that I'm a little distracted.

"oh…yeah…I'm fine." I say taking a sip of my coffee. "I was just thinking. What were you saying?"

"I was saying that me and Aiden decided not to go on that trip." She says drinking her coffee.

'Why's that?" I ask with sincerity and curiosity in my voice.

"Well with everything that's going on, we figured…" I cut her off.

"What is going on, Kyla?"

"Ashley, just let it be ok?"

"How can I let it be when it's obviously a big deal? I mean I think I have a right to know after being lied to for three years."

"Look…Ashley. Things happened…bad things…and it's just better if you stop asking questions."

Stop asking questions? Is she serious? This entire town has been a ragged, mute mess since Spencer came back and they actually expect the people who don't know what happened NOT to have questions. I stand up from the table and push my chair in.

"Well, if you won't tell me then I'll just go ask Spencer." I say walking to the door.

I don't get five feet away from the table before she grabs my arm and stands in front of me. Damn that must be a record. And what is it with everyone grabbing my arms lately?

"Stay away from Spencer, Ashley. She's bad news, ok?" Is that fear in her eyes?

"I'm a big girl, Kyla. I can take care of myself, and unlike you, your sister doesn't scare me."

I walk past her and out of the coffee shop. I just don't get people sometimes. My mom did a bang up job picking this town for her new building. It was a good move for the expansion she said. It would be good for me to get out of L.A. she said. It would be a nice change and the perfect way for me to get my life back on track she said. What was she on crack?

Don't get me wrong this town is sweet and all, but it obviously has its own set of issues. Issues that apparently revolve around one Spencer Carlin. God this is so frustrating. I don't even know this girl and I can't help but have this feeling that maybe I need to help her. Maybe I need to be there for her. Maybe she just needs someone to listen to her. She obviously wanted people to listen to her the other day. Not that she had to try, but still. This girl is an enigma wrapped inside of an enigma and I want to figure it out.

It's not as if anyone else is going to fill in the blanks for me. It's not as if anyone in this town is going to throw a question and answer session any time soon. They are all still walking around like everything is fine. They may talk in hushed tones and keep to themselves more. But it's as if nothing has changed. I mean HELLO! Did they all miss the big train wreck that ripped through here three days ago? Because I sure as hell didn't.

I saw Spencer Carlin with all her anger and hate that is so obviously directed towards the residents here. I saw her tired eyes and sheltered heart. I saw her conviction. I saw the venom that came out of every word she spoke. I saw nervousness masked behind unrequited rage. I saw the fear in their eyes and on their faces. I saw the insecurity that she hides. I saw Spencer Carlin at her point of return. I saw everything that they did on Friday, and I still don't understand.

I don't understand how something so beautiful can be so broken and put together at the same time. How she could just be a shell of someone she used to know. I don't understand what anybody could do to be treated the way that she has been treated.

But mark my words. I am going to find out if it is the last thing I do.


	11. Chapter 9: What I Didn't See

**Chapter 9: What I Didn't See**

**Ashley's POV**

I went back to the apartment building and tried busying myself with some mindless paperwork but it is not working. I want to talk to Spencer. I need to talk to her. But I am trying to think of a starting point that will not potentially piss her off. The last thing that I want to do is make her think that I am only fishing for information. Or even worse, make her think that I am only one more person that is out to get her. I definitely do not want that to happen.

The way I see it, I am currently in a no win situation. No matter what my reasons are for showing up at her door, she is still probably going to think that there is some kind of alternative motive behind it. An alternative motive that definitely does not favor her opening up to me and me getting to know her. And it is not as if I could blame her if she did think that way.

I mean how exactly do you approach someone and try to get them to open up when there is an obvious wall that has been built up by her to protect herself from anymore pain? There is no easy way to go into this. Right now she sees me as Kyla's curious friend. And I may be curious but I am seriously reconsidering this whole friendship thing.

I don't know why, but I feel like I need to get to know her better. I feel like maybe there is something there that I am not seeing or that I just don't want to see. It's as if Spencer is trying to see where I am coming from. Trying to figure out what has me so intrigued by her mere presence. And I don't even know why. Spencer is just another girl who seemingly got dealt a rough hand in life. So, why do I feel this need to get closer? Why do I want to know everything about her? I just don't get it. Spencer has me completely enthralled and I have absolutely no idea why. I mean I have only said like ten words to this girl in three days. She obviously wants to be left alone. So why do I even care?

God this is so frustrating. It makes me want to scream. But what would be the point in that? It wouldn't actually get me over to the elevator and up to the top floor. I have been in the office for an hour now pretending to go over rental agreements and maintenance requests. Acting like I am actually doing something when all I am doing is thinking about Spencer. Then when I finally get the nerve I make it half way to the elevators and turn back. Am I seriously nervous about talking to Spencer? I do not get nervous. Ever. So what the hell is my problem?

Aiden and Kyla have been continuously calling me and I have been continuously ignoring said phone calls. I have nothing to say to them and I really do not want to hear what they have to say. All we ever do is go in a circles about this. It's getting a little repetitive and annoying. When I asked them about Spencer on Friday night, they all looked at me like I was crazy. I seriously think that they wanted it to be a dream. That they wanted Spencer to be a figment of their imagination. Funny thing is, if I hadn't been around, they probably would have tricked themselves into believing that she was a figment of their imagination. That is, until someone smacked them upside the head and told them to open their eyes.

On the outside Spencer seems tough, but on the inside, she's scared and alone. I know this because me and Spencer…we're a lot alike in that way. Maybe that's why I feel this need to be in her life. Maybe that's the reason for the connection. _Yeah right, Davies. Keep dreaming. You know damn well that it is something more than that. You just can't put your finger on it._ Not yet anyway. But at least I made it to her floor this time.

I am walking down the hall and the butterflies in my stomach are flying around like it's half price day at the local five and dime. My hands are shaking a little and I know that I cannot really talk to her until I get control of myself. Turning around isn't an option at this point because I have already made it to her door. What if she's not home? What if she slams the door in my face? What if she won't even open the door once she sees that it's me standing on the other side? I didn't think about that.

Jesus…stop thinking already and just fucking knock already. Stop being a baby about it and do it. You wanted to come up here. It was your choice. You can't turn away now. Nervousness or not, it is now or never.

I close my eyes, take a deep breath and lift my hand up, making a fist and knocking lightly on the door three times. Good job, Ash. Now…we wait! Or rather me and the millions of thoughts running through my mind right now wait. Wait for Spencer to come to the door just to shut me down. Wait for her to flip out on me for being Kyla's spy or something. Just waiting to be turned away and laughed at for even considering coming to talk to the town's ghost. Waiting to be….

"What do you want, Ashley?"

Jesus Christ! She scared the hell out of me. When the hell did she open the door? She's just standing in the doorway leaning against the frame with her arms crossed across her chest, wearing track pants and a black beater. Staring at me intently with eyes of indifference. Watching my every move with sheer concentration. She raises an eyebrow and stands up straight, walking slowly back into the apartment. Her eyes never leaving mine. Waiting for my response…wait…I haven't answered her yet. God I am such an idiot sometimes. She goes to close the door and I stop it with my hand.

"I'm sorry. You just caught me off guard." She opens the door back up and leans back against the frame.

"So, what do you want?"

"I just wanted to talk?" _That's a great way to start things you idiot._

"About?"

"Everything that's going on." _What are you a moron? _

She stands straight up and uncrosses her arms. Looking at me with uncertainty in her eyes. I knew that was a dumb move. God, I wouldn't be surprised if she just sucker punched me right now. Way to be blunt Ash.

"Why? I'm sure Kyla and them have told you to stay away from me."

"Yeah…well…I'm not one for taking orders."

She smiles slightly and turns walking back into the apartment. She left the door open though so I guess I am taking that as an invitation to come in. I follow behind her and close the door quietly, taking a minute to get my thoughts together.

I walk into the living room and see her standing in front of the window, looking out over the town. The sun is beginning to set outside and she looks almost at peace. The setting sun is shining through the window, illuminating her in a silhouette of light. Delicately tracing every one of her features and encompassing every fiber of her being.

I take a minute to look at her before I move any further. I realize that I have never really noticed how beautiful she is. I never saw the softness that lies behind the confusion, anger, and pain that she carries with her as a front. I realize that I never saw Spencer for who she really is. All I saw was the girl who managed to tear a hole through this town with just her presence. I saw a girl who was seemingly out for blood. I saw a girl that was a lot like me. But I never really saw Spencer at all.

And now I cannot keep my eyes off of her. I am committing everything to memory. Carving it into my brain for future reference. Not wanting to forget what I am seeing for the first time because I know that it could very well be my last.

I walk over to the window and stand next her. My eyes never leaving her as she continues to watch the sunset. I am too scared to move. To scared to speak for fear of taking her out of this state of tranquility that she seems to be in. I can hear her breathing in and out slowly. Quietly trying to regain her self control. Lost in thought and concentration.

"I missed the sunsets." She says quietly, still staring out the window. "I used to think that with every sunset came new possibilities. A new chance to do everything over and get it right. My dad used to say that today's pains are tomorrow's triumphs." She sighs. "I'm just not so sure I believe it anymore." She turns and walks over to the couch, sitting down.

I don't say anything. I wouldn't even know what to say. I watch her sit down and look up to me. Her eyes making contact with my own. God, her eyes are amazing. Nothing can compare. I'm pretty sure that she has the bluest eyes I have ever seen. They could put the bluest ocean or the sky on the clearest day to shame. They're so deep and they say so much in just one look. I swear that I could get lost in them without even having to try.

She is staring at me with this high intensity that has just brought back all of my nerves. She pats the seat next to her on the couch.

"I won't bite Ashley." She says softly.

I walk over and sit next to her. Our eyes locked in some sort of twisted staring contest. After a few minutes, she takes a deep breath and looks away.

"What have they told you?" She asks seriously.

"Nothing." I say as she looks back over to me with one eyebrow raised. "I didn't even know you existed."

She shakes her head and lets out a light chuckle. "I guess I shouldn't be that surprised. They've worked really hard to try and forget me."

"Why?"

"When my dad died I kind of went off the tracks so to speak. I was always getting into trouble and making my mother crazy because she couldn't control me anymore. I was a daddy's girl through and through and I guess they didn't like that very much."

She sits back on the couch as I hang onto every word that she is saying. Praying that she won't stop now. Praying that she won't reconsider and think that she made a mistake by letting me in the door. Praying that she'll find a way to let me in.

"Everything got really complicated really fast and soon things spiraled out of control and I wound up in jail for something that I didn't even do. I became this town's dirty little secret and I am tired of everyone being able to have these great lives while mine has been ruined because of them." She's frustrated. Maybe I can move things along.

"Why do they hate you, Spence? I don't get it. I have been wracking my brain trying to figure out what you possibly could have done that would cause so many people to want you to disappear, and I can't come up with anything."

"Why do you care? I mean you could lose your friends for talking to me."

I look at her and wait until her gaze reaches mine. I need for her to pay attention. I need for her to hear what I have to say because they don't matter to me. Their opinion doesn't matter to me. But she does. In this moment, the only thing that matters is her.

"I don't really care if I lose them. If they can't deal then that's their problem. But with you it's different. With you I can see what lies beneath this tough exterior that you put on and I'm drawn to you. I don't know why. I just am." I say honestly.

"I don't need your sympathy, Ashley. So if that's what you're trying to give me then you can just leave now. I have…" I cut her off.

"No Spencer. That's not it at all." I pause trying to find the right words. "You and me, Spencer. We're not so different you know."

"Oh yeah…How do you figure? You don't even know me, Ashley."

"Maybe not personally. But I do know you. I know what goes on in that pretty little head of yours. I know the inner struggle that you go through every day. I know that you feel alone and frustrated. I know that you have this wall up that you won't let anybody get through. I know that you were dealt a rough hand in life, and whether you deserved it or not is irrelevant because it doesn't make it hurt any less." I pause for a minute, making sure that I still have her attention. She is staring right at me, looking into my eyes. My tone softens. "I know that underneath this tough exterior, you are still just a girl who needs to be loved. A girl who deserves to be loved regardless of what has happened." I pause again. "I know you, Spencer. I know you because three years ago I was pretty much just like you."

She looks away from me and we fall into silence. I can hear the kids outside. I can hear the ticking of the clock that is on the wall. I am acutely aware of every small sound that no one notices until they are plunged into a deafening silence.

Her brow is creased as she is thinking. She is taking the time to think about what I have just said. Taking the time to think about how we could possibly be alike in any way. And I will give her that time. I will give her the time to get her thoughts together because, if nothing else, she deserves that much. But I don't want to lose her. I realize that if she is going to open up to me, then I am going to have to open up to her and share my secrets as well. I am going to have to trust her if I am ever hoping to gain hers. She looks at me again and opens her mouth like she is going to say something, but she closes it just as fast. Maybe I'll have to start things off and there's no other way than getting right to the point.

"Spencer?" I ask softly.

She turns her head to me. "What?"

"Why is everyone afraid of you? Why were you in jail?"

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There's another one for you. I will post a few more later on today :) Hope you liked it!


	12. Chapter 10: Some Secrets Revealed

**Hey All! Here's another one for you. Enjoy. Let me know what you think!**

_slushhy: Over the next few chapters things start to get explained. But I'm a fan of the unexpected so..._

_.HEART: I think Ashley might be able to reach her on a level that most wouldn't. :) And you will find out everything soon because nothing can stay buried forever. right? :)_

_grangergirl22: Thanks! Glad you're liking it! _

* * *

**Chapter 10: Some Secrets Revealed**

**Spencer's POV**

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that no one has told her about me. I shouldn't be surprised that I really have become nothing to these people. Erased like a mistake on a chalkboard. Forgotten along with every other bad memory. I shouldn't be surprised that they really didn't care. It is not as if I was expecting them to anyway. All this does is validate the fact that I am alone.

"_I know you, Spencer. I know you because three years ago I was pretty much just like you." _

And what the hell is that supposed to mean? How can she possibly be anything like me? Last time I checked, she was never cast out by everyone that she knew. She was never blacklisted and turned into a bad memory that everyone just wanted to forget. She was never erased. But then again I don't really know her. I don't know what Ashley has been through and why she moved here. I don't know why she has this pull over me that makes me want to talk to her. I don't know anything anymore. But, now I'm curious. I want to know about her. I want to know everything.

Collin keeps telling me that I can't afford to get to close to anyone here. He tells me that I can't let my guard down because it will ruin everything. Collin likes to hear himself talk. He likes to pretend that he knows everything when all he knows is what is on the outside. He may have an in with these people but that doesn't mean that I have to listen to him. Besides, what does he know anyway?

If I want to get to know Ashley, then I will get to know her. It is not as if he could stop me. This is my life, my choice. I feel like she may know me almost better than I know myself and that is a little unnerving. I am going to find out who she is and maybe I can help her. Maybe we can help each other. Maybe she can be the one to love me. _Wait…where the hell did that come from?_

I open my mouth to speak but no words come out. I can't find my voice. Well, that's just perfect.

"Spencer?" She says softly, effectively taking me away from my thoughts.

I turn to look at her. "What?" _That's it…simple answers Spencer._

"Why is everyone afraid of you? Why were you in jail?"

Talk about getting right to the point. Ashley's not wasting any time. She's looking at me with concern in her eyes and I am still trying to figure out why I am being open with her in the first place. I do not understand myself sometimes. I spend ten years building these walls up that no one can get through and it only took her three days to be able to read me like a book. It is kind of frustrating. Why am I letting her in? Why didn't I just slam the door in her face?

In the back of my mind, I keep hearing that little voice tell me that this is just some ploy to get information out of me for my sister and her friends. It keeps telling me that this is only going to backfire. Yet I don't want to let her walk out that door. I could tell her to leave. I could tell her that if it is that important for her to know then she can just ask somebody else. I could tell her that the answers to her questions are complicated and that I don't want to answer them. I could tell her anything I want to because I don't have to answer to her. I don't have to let her in. But I want to. I want to know her better than I know myself and I want her to know me. I want her to know the truth because lord knows she wouldn't get it from any of them.

I am staring into her deep brown eyes. _She really is beautiful. I could get lost in her and never grow tired of it. _She is waiting patiently for my reply. I know she is going to push, but I wonder if she knows her limit.

"They're not afraid of me, Ashley. They're afraid of a ghost that they thought they buried."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…" I stop for a minute. This isn't going to be easy. "Look Ashley. The people in this town buried me a long time ago. They put me away and obviously erased me from their lives. They made me their dirty little secret and they never thought that I would actually come back. They never thought that they would have to face the things that they did. A whole town protecting two people, and ditching me like I was just a bad habit or something. But, getting rid of me made way for the two people who had the brightest futures. I was a sacrificial lamb Ashley and nobody cared then…so why should I believe that you really care now?"

I stand up and walk over to the window. Looking out at the town I try to compose myself. I was a little angry and I really have no reason to be angry with her. She just wants to know what happened. I can't say that I blame her, either. I know that I would want to know what was going on if I was in her position. But this is going to be a give and take. I won't open up to her unless she opens up to me as well.

I can feel her walk up beside me, brushing her shoulder with mine, and electricity shoots through my body. _What the hell was that? _She starts talking softly.

"For eight years I was nothing but a screw-up. I drank, did drugs, and got myself into more trouble than anybody else I knew. I hated the world because they hated me. Or at least I thought I did." She takes a deep breath. "In high school I hated my life. I was an outcast and expected to be school rebel, so that's what I did. I rebelled. But eventually things took a turn for the worse. Back in LA everything can be so superficial sometimes. Everyone always wants something. People have images to maintain and fake happiness to portray. It's all about what you have and who you pretend to be. I guess I just got sick of it."

I turn to face her and her gaze reaches mine.

"I started to steal in order to gain some respect and attention. I wanted them to catch me. But they never did. I thought that if I proved myself then maybe my mother and father would actually care. Back then they didn't. She was a wannabe socialite, he was a drunk, and I was just a nuisance." She looks away and puts her down. I continue to stare at her with my brows furrowed. "Anyway, one night I got into a fight with another girl from back home. She had said some things about my dad being a drunk and my mother probably wishing that I was dead. I just lunged at her. I was so angry and so frustrated that I took all of my aggression out on her. I didn't hold back and I just kept hitting her. She was bleeding and crying for me to stop but I couldn't. It was like I was possessed or something." A tear rolls down her cheek and she quickly wipes it away. "She was in a coma for six months. I almost killed her, Spencer."

"Ash…" I say with concern lacing my voice. I had no idea.

"Let me finish." I nod my head telling her to go on. "I pled guilty to aggravated assault and served eighteen months in a juvenile prison and then five years probation when I got out. Once my probation was finished, my mother made me move here to manage her building, saying that I needed a change of scenery, among other things." She turns to look at me again. "So, I do care Spencer. I care because regardless of what you may have done, it doesn't give them the right to treat you like this." She takes my hand in hers and looks directly into my eyes. "I care because I feel this connection with you that I can't quite explain. I care because I know that you are just as alone as I am even with all these people who call themselves my friends. I care because I know that somehow I need you in my life and I'm not willing to just forget about it."

I have no idea what to say to that. She just literally shared one of her deepest, darkest secrets and I can't even say anything. She looks so broken and hurt. I just want to pull her in and hold onto her, letting her know that everything is going to be all right. I want to let her know that her demons can be dealt with and that she does deserve to be happy, because right now I don't think that she feels like she does deserve it. I want to tell her that we really aren't all that different, although our situations may be. I want to tell her that I understand. That I feel the same way. I want to take her pain away, but I know that I cannot do that until I deal with mine.

We are just looking at each other with our hands still linked together, and I can see the worry and fear washing over her eyes. I know that she is waiting for me to say something. I know now that the pain I saw in her eyes before is real. I know that I need her too. I don't know why, but I know that somehow we were meant to be there for each other.

"I'm sorry, Ash."

"For what?"

"For just assuming. For thinking that you only wanted to talk in order to help my sister. For…"

She squeezes my hand and smiles slightly, cutting me off.

"Don't worry about it, Spence. You didn't know any of that. No one around here does. I just thought that if this is going to work, you needed to know. I needed to let you in, if I ever expected you to let me in."

Another tear falls from her eye and I reach up to wipe it off. Tilting my head slightly and giving her the best smile that I can muster. I know that I need to tell her everything, regardless of what she does with the information. I need her to know what really happened, just like she needed me to know her secret.

I take a deep breath and pull her over to the couch so we can sit down.

"It started when I found out about some of the business practices going on in this town. To say they were shady would be an understatement." I pause for a minute, regaining some sort of composure. "My father found out that his bosses were skimming money from the businesses, among other things, and not reporting it. They told him to stay quiet and that they would cut him in, so he didn't say anything at first. He didn't take the money offered, but he still didn't say anything." I take another deep breath and she squeezes my hand again, almost instantly making me feel at ease. "That is until one night when he walked into McGraw's Pub to have drink. He didn't know that I followed him that night and hid in the alley beside the pub. I hated it when he drank because it never solved anything, but that's how he dealt with his problems." And another deep breath. "Anyway, after about an hour I heard yelling through the little window on the side of the building and I knew right away that it was my father's voice. I grabbed a crate and stood on it so that I could try and see through the window."

_There were five big guys in the bathroom holding another man in a chair even though he was tied down. The man in the chair was bleeding from cuts on his face and arms. _

"_What the hell are you doing, Jenkins?" Jenkins turns his head. _

"_Leave Arthur! This doesn't concern you."_

_He walks up to Jenkins and puts his hand on his arm and turns him around aggressively. _

"_Well, I'm making it my concern. Did you forget that I am the only thing keeping your ass out of prison. Now, let the man go."_

"_Go to hell, Arthur. This is a business matter and Mr. Thompson here is trying to get away with stealing from my business."_

_Arthur pulls on Jenkins' collar a little tighter._

"_You let him go, or I will turn you in myself." He leans forward a little bit. _

_Jenkins backs down and nods his head a bit. The other guys in the room untie the man who is tied to the chair and he runs out of the room. _

"The man ran out but it didn't matter. They found his body about four weeks later. I guess after my dad had talked to them, they waited until he left to go after Mr. Thompson again." Ashley moves a little closer to me and squeezes my hand again, encouraging me to go on. "When my father placed the face of the dead man with the name, he knew. He knew that they had done it and a few days later he decided that he was going to go to the police. He knew that it would cause problems but he didn't care anymore. He was willing to take whatever they were going to give him." I looked at her eyes, needing desperately to convey my emotions to her as a tear fell from my own. "He never made it, Ashley. The night he was in his supposed accident was the night that he was on his way to turn them in." She wipes the tears away from my face. "And that's when everything went from bad to worse."

I get quiet for a minute, trying to regain my composure. I don't cry. I think the last time I cried was at my father's funeral. I have held onto everything for so long that I think maybe it needed to come out. I think that maybe Ashley is the only one who could make me feel safe enough to let it come out.

"Spencer?" She says bringing my attention back to her. Once she knows she has it, she continues. "Why were you in jail?"

I close my eyes for a second and then look back into hers. "The official charges were fraud and manslaughter."

The door slams shut and me and Ashley jump apart and look towards the intruder. Our eyes go wide and my walls come back up. _DAMMIT!_

"What the hell is going on in here?"


	13. Chapter 11: Be Careful What You Wish For

**Chapter 11: Be Careful What You Wish For**

**Spencer's POV**

A million thoughts are running through my head as I stare at six people I have come to hate. My eyes lock with Kyla's and the tension in the room only gets stronger. Why are they here? For six people who have worked hard to avoid me, they sure aren't doing a good job of that now.

Kyla's eyes shift to my right and then I remember Ashley. They must be looking for her. It's not as if they would voluntarily come looking for me anyway. I am everything they are trying to forget. Every secret they are trying to uphold. Everything that could ruin their lives. And all I can think about is how stupid I must have been to let my guard down. I cannot believe that I allowed Ashley in. And what's even worse is that I cannot wrap my head around how easy it was to do so.

No one has said anything. We are all just standing here looking at each other. Or rather everyone is looking at me. Kyla's gaze keeps going from me to Ashley. It looks like she cannot believe that Ashley would even consider talking to me after everything that's been going on. But I wonder if she knows Ashley's secret. I wonder if she would still look at her the same way if she knew about her past. I wonder if any of them would.

Kyla's gaze once again locks onto mine and she makes her way toward me slowly. Aiden tries to stop her but she just keeps coming. My eyes never leave hers. The darkness portrayed within her eyes is a mirror image of the darkness in mine, I'm sure. After all, how often do you come face to face with a sister who sold you out? How often do you come face to face with a sister who erased you from her life? A sister who was dead to you a long time ago. I can bet that it's not very often.

She comes to a stop, her faces inches from mine. Purposely stepping into my personal space. Trying to make me uncomfortable. Trying to scare me into forgetting this whole thing. But I won't. I can't. Kyla is in way over her head. She just doesn't know it yet.

The only sound in the room is the air conditioner running through the apartment. And I wouldn't have it any other way. She is waiting for me to say something. She doesn't want to be the one to start this. She doesn't want to be the one to open this can of worms. And I can't say that I blame her. This meeting was inevitable. The seven of us in a room again. Alone. Why they would voluntarily put themselves in this position is beyond me. But she stays silent and a smirk graces my features. _Let's get this party started._

"What do you want Kyla?" I say calmly with venom lacing my voice.

She visibly gulps. I don't think she was actually expecting me to say anything. I take a step towards her, making her move back.

"What reason could you possibly have for coming in here uninvited?" Still Nothing.

I keep walking forward and she keeps stepping back, keeping the small amount of distance that's between us intact. No one else has moved. It's as if they are glued to their spots. Waiting to see what my next move is. Kyla hits the wall and I smile. She looks terrified. Maybe she shouldn't have gotten up in my face when she couldn't handle it. I purposely lean forward a bit.

"You scared…or have you just become mute?"

"That's enough Spencer!" Aiden says finally taking a step forward. I turn towards him ready to give him the verbal beating he deserves, when Kyla suddenly finds her voice.

"I'm not afraid of you Spencer." She says softly.

I laugh lightly, shaking my head, and walk over to the chair, taking a seat. Aiden rushes over to Kyla and starts rubbing her back. I guess they are still together. How cute and predictable. Everyone else was just moving their gazes around. Not sure where to let them land.

"What the hell do you all want because this obviously isn't a wanted reunion." My voice has calmed a bit but the hatred is still there.

"We were looking for Ashley." And enter Chelsea. "She wasn't answering her phone and…" I cut her off.

"And you were afraid that maybe she was in a million pieces around town?" There's that smirk again. I think my new favorite thing is stunning them into silence.

I knew they were looking for her. I knew that there was more behind it. I should have known that whatever it was that we had going for us wasn't going to last. Not that we even started anything but that doesn't mean that I wasn't willing to try. Ulterior motives. They can wind up killing a person. Metaphorically speaking of course.

"Knock it off, Spencer. That's not what she meant." Aiden says.

"Well, with you people meaning can be anything." I say standing back up. "I mean you just never know what kind of story your minds will think up, isn't that right?"

"Spencer, it wasn't like that."

"Really?" _Of all the things. Now I'm pissed. _"Then what the hell was it like, AIDEN? You know damn well what happened and STILL you kept your mouth shut. ALL OF YOU! And now that I'm back. Now, that you can't simply get rid of me, you're all going to sing a different tune? Keep dreaming 'cause you're not getting off that easy."

"Spencer, please." Kyla pleads looking at Ashley, then back to me. _Is she serious?_

"I am going to make myself perfectly clear, Kyla. YOU of all people should have listened to me. You should have believed me. You NEVER should have turned your back on me. But you didn't listen and you hung me out to dry. So, pleading your case after TEN fucking years isn't going to get you anywhere. I will not leave this town, and I will no longer be your dirty little secret. Soon, everyone is going to know what really happened and I WILL be the one to have the last laugh. I promise you that."

"Spencer…this isn't you." Chelsea says grabbing my attention. I look at her with one eyebrow raised. "You're not this monster that you're making yourself out to be." _Since when was my being a monster my decision? _"I have never seen you so angry. So filled with hate. And I'm not saying that some of it isn't our fault." _Oh…only some._ I turn towards her. "But, you have to stop this. Do you have any idea what you're doing to your family? To this town?" _And that's it._

"I didn't realize that I had a family, Chelsea. I must have forgotten to give a shit about you and everybody else in this town while I was busy wasting away in prison. I mean where are my manners?" My voice is rising and I'm pretty sure my blood pressure is too. "How could I possibly forget to be courteous to a family and a town who has conveniently erased me from the face of the Earth? GOD I can be so damn insensitive sometimes!" _Can you feel the sarcasm flooding from my pores? _

"Spencer…"

"No…wait a minute, Chelsea. I mean I have to be the most insensitive bastard ever to come out of Riverview. Right? I couldn't just let it be and somehow that's MY FAULT! You guys are seriously one sick and twisted bunch of people." I scan the room and my eyes fall on Ashley. "And another thing. Ashley came in here on her own, to see if I was available to sign some rental papers. So no one needs to worry themselves over something as mundane as a conversation that was about as much fun as watching paint dry. Now…get the fuck out!"

I can see the look in her eyes go from nervous to hurt in two seconds flat. I know that I hurt her with my words but I'm doing her a favor. She's had enough problems in her life and she doesn't need me making more trouble for her. It's best if we just cut our losses now before anything has a chance to begin. It's best if I just find a way to forget about her. _Like that will ever happen._

I look away from her as Clay walks over to the door and opens it up, waiting for everyone to leave. But no one moves. Ashley is still looking at me. I can feel her eyes boring holes into the side of my head as I look at who used to be my sister. There isn't anything that they can say that is going to make me change my mind and I think they're starting to get that. It's going to take more than some weak attempts at intimidation to get me to back down.

"Spencer." Kyla says softly. "Don't make this more difficult on yourself then it already is."

"Oh, Kyla. This is a walk in the park compared to what I've been through. You all seem to forget that I have nothing left to lose. It's not like I actually still have a family. That was gone a long time ago."

"Be careful what you wish for, Spencer."

And with that she walks out the door with everyone behind her, except Ashley. _What the hell is she doing?_ I turn to look at her and our eyes meet. She knows Clay is waiting for her, but I'm not so sure that she cares. I know she has things she wants to say but she's another one who will just go with the crowd. I try to convey everything to her through my eyes but I'm not so sure that it's working. After a few seconds her gaze leaves mine and she walks out the door with her head down, and Clay behind her.

When the door shuts, I go to the window and watch them walk down the street once they get outside. Kyla looks like she's yelling at Ashley. I used to love her. I used to look up to her. But now I can only hate her. For a second I am worried that maybe if she heard what me and Ashley were talking about then I probably just made things worse. But then I realized that if she did know, then she sure as hell wouldn't be talking to her. Ashley's secrets are her own. It is not my place to tell them anything. It is not my place to interfere and I won't. Not until I need to. Not until Ashley asks me to, if she ever does. I didn't come back here to hurt the people that I didn't know. I came back here to hurt the ones I did. And as I stand here watching them walk down the street, the last thing Kyla said is playing in my mind.

"_Be careful what you wish for, Spencer."_

I laugh lightly to myself as I turn away from the window. _Oh…If she only knew._


	14. Chapter 12: Does It Really Matter?

**Chapter 12: Does It Really Matter?**

**Ashley's POV**

What the hell happened back there? I just went mute. I couldn't talk even if I wanted to, and what's worse is that Spencer probably thinks that it was just some big setup. GOD, I can be so fucking stupid sometimes. If nothing else, I should have at least helped her out in there. I can't even begin to believe what I heard. How can people be so callous when they're supposed to love you despite everything? How can they not see what I can see? And how could I have been so stupid?

When she told them why I was there, I could swear that I saw hurt in her eyes and her words burned me from the inside out. She hates me and I can't even really blame her. I didn't say anything. I didn't stand up for her. For all she thinks, I am just another person who is going to walk away from her. I shouldn't have left the apartment. I should have let her know that I really did care and that it wasn't all an act. I should have done something. Anything to prove to her that I am not like everybody else in this fucking town.

And now I have Kyla yelling at me. In fact, she hasn't stopped since we left Spencer's apartment two fucking hours ago. No one else can even get a word in edgewise, not that it would matter. They can't believe that I would go talk to her after they told me that she was nothing but trouble. But what they fail to realize is that Spencer is the only one around here who is being honest with herself.

I am sitting in Kyla's living room and Paula has conveniently decided to join us. I can't even look at this place the same anymore. Every portrait of a happy family is nothing but a lie. Nothing but an imitation of the family that they want to be. A family that broke a long time ago and is too scared to face it.

I am sitting here in this house that used to be so warm and inviting. A house that used portray everything that I thought I wanted out of my own family. A house that veiled itself in light to hide the darkness. And now I don't know anything anymore except that I know that all of these people are nothing but cowards.

Kyla is still yelling as she paces back and forth in front of me. Everyone else is sitting down. I love how everyone suddenly becomes mute when Spencer is brought up. Apparently I fall into that category as well. Kyla is spouting some uninteresting spiel on why it's important for me to stay away from Spencer. She said something about everything Spencer touches dies or some crap like that. I don't really know. I keep drifting in and out of what she says. I only listen enough to nod my head at the appropriate points in time. I don't really care what she says. It not as if I am five years old and cannot make my own big girl decisions. Jesus Christ! Somebody shut her the hell up.

"Ashley?"

I am seriously considering walking out this door but I know that they would just follow me. I mean there's no point in walking away when the people that you are walking away from aren't going to let you leave anyway. Right?

"ASHLEY?" Kyla yells.

"WHAT KYLA? Jesus, I'm not fucking deaf."

"Were you listening to me?"

"Yes Kyla. Half the fucking town was listening to you."

"Well then, what did she tell you?" _What? Does she really think I'm going to tell her?_

"She didn't tell me anything Kyla." I say shooting her a glare. I am not very happy right now. "But, after that conversation you all had, I have a pretty good idea of what's going on."

Kyla pinches the bridge of her nose and closes her eyes. "Whatever she tells you is a lie, Ashley. She's been lying to herself for ten years. She just doesn't want to take responsibility for her own damn actions."

She has got to be kidding.

"Kyla, how do you know that she's lying? How do you know that she's really this bad person who deserves to be punished and forgotten?"

"Look, Ash. We will make Spencer leave, so it's best if you just stay away from her."

"Why?"

""Because I said so!" Now she's getting angry again. And why is she avoiding my question?

"Because you said so! Jesus, Kyla, what am I? Five?." _Now I'm mad_. "And for your information, you do not have any right to tell me what to do. You are not my fucking mother."

"Yeah…I forgot. I didn't throw you out on your ass and ship you across the country."

Ok. If I was pissed before. I am extremely pissed now.

"Fuck off, Kyla. You don't know anything. What kind of person fucking erases her own goddamn sister! What kind of people shun her, turn her into a ghost, and THEN act all high and mighty when she shows back up. Is it really going to ruin your perfect little lives?"

"Ashley…"

"No Paula! This is insane! You people are pathetic. You think I owe you something because I don't. Everyone in this town might have their perfect little lives wrapped up in this perfect little bubble, but you know what? In the REAL WORLD we don't live like a bunch of fucking stepford wives. We don't just forget about people that we are supposed to care about. We don't just throw them out as if they were a disposable piece of trash. And we don't give up on them, regardless of what they may have done!"

"Ashley, calm down. Please." Paula says walking over to me and putting a hand on my shoulder. I shrug it off and walk over to the window. "Arguing isn't going to get us anywhere!" She turns to Kyla. "Telling people what to do isn't going to make them do it, Kyla. Whether we want to or not this something that we have to deal with!"

"No mom. You're wrong." Kyla says walking towards the door. "Spencer is going to regret the day that she ever came back here. As God as my witness I am going to see to it that she regrets it."

And with that she walks out the front door, slamming it behind her and walking briskly down the street. Aiden follows after her, grabbing his coat on the way out. I swear the man is nothing but a weak, lovesick puppy when it comes to that woman. I turn from the window and scan the room. Clay, Chelsea, Glen, Madison, and Paula are all sitting in silence with their heads down. Long, deep breaths coming out of them. I am not so sure that even they know what to believe anymore. It's obvious that part of them wants this to go away, but there seems to be a small part of them that wants to see this whole thing play out. I just do not understand Kyla. I can't for the life of me even begin to comprehend how she can hold so much contempt for someone who is part of her fucking gene pool.

After a few minutes, Paula gets up, leaves the room, and heads upstairs. Once her bedroom door closes, Chelsea looks over to me and a tear rolls down her cheek. I am still standing by the window. I figure it's a quick exit if I need one. But, I am looking at her and the uncertainty that lies behind her eyes. I can tell that she wants to say something but I am not so sure that even she knows where to begin. I mean I know the story, or part of it at least, so why does it matter if they say anything to me or not. And where the hell was my voice when we were at Spencer's. It seems to be intact now, so where the hell was it when I really needed it. When it actually would have mattered. Wait a minute…

"_Spencer is going to regret the day that she ever came back here."_

What the fuck does that mean? What the hell is she going to do? There was so much venom in that statement. Pure hatred. And I can't help but feel a little sick to my stomach right now. She ran out of here in a hurry, too. Chelsea's still looking at me and I can't figure out why. That is until she decides to speak up.

"You need to stop her Ashley. Before it gets out of hand. You're the only one who isn't involved in all of this." She says softly as she looks to the ground.

_What?_ "Stop who Chelsea?"

"Kyla." She says simply.

I walk over to Chelsea and sit next to her. I turn my body towards her and wait until she is looking at me again.

"What are you talking about, Chelsea?"

She just shakes her head and looks away again. Then Glen decides to speak up.

"We never thought that this would come back to haunt us and now that it has, she's out for blood just as much as Spencer is." I turn toward him with an eyebrow raised.

"What does that mean, Glen?" I say forcefully.

He looks around the room and then back at me.

"She's trying to hurt Spencer, Ashley. Like Spencer hurt us."

What the fuck? I look around the room and everyone is looking at me. I must be foaming at the mouth right about. What the fuck is Kyla going to do? How can they let her hurt Spencer? Oh yeah I almost forgot. Everyone in this room is a fucking joke.

"What…are you just gonna fucking sit there?"

No one moves and my anger is quickly filling up the air in the room. I walk to the door and jerk it open.

"Fine. I'll find out on my own! It's not like I'd hear the truth from any of you anyway." I say as I slam the door shut behind me.

* * *

Where the hell could she be? I swear I have circled this town like ten times already looking for her. This town is not that big that you could actually get lost. Everything goes in a damn circle. LITERALLY! So where the hell are Kyla and Aiden? I am losing what little patience that I have left looking for these two morons and quite frankly I have no idea why. I mean I know that it's to see what they're up to in regards to Spencer, but for the love of Christ!

I have walked by the apartment building three times now and I know they're not there. I can see the light from Spencer's apartment and I know she's home, but I know they're not up there and I need to find them before I can even think about trying to fix this thing with Spencer. I really dug a hole for myself with this one…didn't I? GAH!

The sun went down an hour ago but you wouldn't know it from all the damn string lights hanging around the town. There's even more than there was before the party. Maybe they don't want any more sudden visitors popping up out of dark places. Huh!

I make my way back into the town square and I decide that I'm done fucking walking around. I go over to the bandstand where I saw Spencer argue with Mayor Jenkins and I stand on the platform, scanning the area.

I spot Kyla across the street out in front of the diner and she's handing out flyers. Aiden is beside her with a stack of paper in his hands as well. What the hell is going on? I quickly walk across the street and grab a flyer out of Aiden's hand, startling him a bit. I stare at the piece of paper in disbelief.

"What the hell is this, Kyla?"

She's obviously not listening to me so I grab her shoulder and spin her around.

"Kyla, you can't do this!" I say loudly.

By now we have drawn a small crowd. Some with the flyers and some without.

"YES I CAN, ASHLEY! NOW BACK OFF!" _Oh…Hell NO!_

"Kyla, are you crazy? What the fuck are you trying to prove?"

"You don't know anything Ashley. If Spencer wants to play this game, she can fucking bring it on because I'm not hiding anymore. I am going to make her as uncomfortable as she is making everyone else!"

I shake my head and ball my hands up into fists, crinkling the paper.

"Are you out of your fucking mind, Kyla! You can't do this!" I say moving closer to her.

"Watch me." She says getting up into my face.

We have a staring contest for the next few minutes and then she backs off with a smirk on her face. She walks out into the middle of the road, flailing her arms like a crazy person.

"You want to know what happened, Ashley?" Her voice getting higher with every word. "Well, I'll tell you."

"Kyla!" Aiden says desperately. I just stand there. I have never seen her like this before.

"She stole money from the people in this town. She ruined their lives! But that wasn't enough! No! She had to go and destroy people instead. She had to go and rip the heart out of every person in this fucking town!"

"Kyla!" Aiden tries again. My eyes are still fixed on the spectacle that is currently Kyla yelling at the top of her lungs.

"Shut it, AIDEN!" She yells. "She took everything, Ashley and she deserves everything that she has coming to her."

"KYLA!" Aiden yells.

I turn my attention to him and he is staring at something other than Kyla. I follow his gaze and now I really think I'm going to be sick.

"I'm not done, Aiden." She says fixing her gaze on mine again. "She killed me Ashley. The day she killed three fucking people, she killed me!" She pauses for a minute. When she doesn't see me react, she starts again. "Three people, ASHLEY! Three people, including my FATHER!"

My eyes widen and I swallow hard. There's that reaction! My gaze goes from Kyla to the person that has Aiden's attention and is standing behind her_….Say what?_


	15. Chapter 13: Let It All Air Out

Hey Everyone! Here's the next chapter! Sorry I didn't update yesterday. It was a crazy busy day for me. I will try to update again today but I'm not sure if I'll be able to. Anyway, a handful of updates tomorrow for sure! Enjoy

And I swear i will reply to your reviews as soon as I have a little more time to do so. So if not today then definitely tomorrow! :)

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**Chapter 13: Let It All Air Out**

**Spencer's POV**

I'm gonna fucking kill her! I may not have killed anyone before but I sure as hell am going to do it now. Of all the low blows she could have thrown my way. She picks this! SERIOUSLY? I swear she better run when I fucking find her because this is completely uncalled for. It's one thing to call me out on my supposed bullshit. It's one thing to forget about me and pretend that I never existed. It's one thing to call me a murderer. But it is another to fucking broadcast it out of spite. She just dove into a whole new ballpark and now, I am really going to make her life fucking miserable. I wasn't looking to involve the people who didn't live here back then, but now she has just opened up a whole new can of worms and EVERYONE is fair game. Jesus Christ! I think I popped some blood vessels when Collin came back and slammed the flyer onto my journal.

_I am sitting in the chair by the fireplace, my legs hanging over the arm of the chair, and my journal on my lap. I am writing a new entry when I hear the door shut and a piece of paper is slammed over my hand, backside up. I look up and see Collin pacing back and forth in front of me. He looks at me and let's out an exasperated sigh._

"_Look at the damn paper, SPENCER!"_

_I take my eyes off of him and turn the paper over. My eyes go wide and I stand up with the paper in my hand, my journal crashing to the floor. _

"_What the hell is this, Collin?"_

"_Kyla's handing them out all over town, Spencer."_

_I look at the paper again. My anger and resolve coming back stronger than ever. As I scan the flyer I can feel my blue eyes turning black with hate. There's a picture of me on it, with MURDERER written across the top in big, bold letters. Underneath the picture there's some writing. 'Do You Feel Safe?', 'Don't look into the eyes of the devil!', 'Hell has come to Riverview and we are ALL at risk!'. 'BEWARE!'. _

"_Where is she right now, Collin?" I say with venom lacing my voice._

_He looks at me and stops pacing._

"_Spencer, this is a problem. A HUGE fucking problem."_

"_Where is she?"_

"_Spencer, none of this will work if the people who didn't know, are actually going to know."_

"_I am going to take care of it. Now where the fuck is she?" My voice is rising but I am staying as calm as I can. I walk over to the front door with the flyer still in my hand._

"_In town." I turn to leave and Collin yells out. "Spencer! What are going to do?"_

_I turn to look at him from the doorway. "I'm going to fucking kill her."_

And I am too. That bitch has gone fucking insane! I am walking towards the town square and I hear a commotion. Perfect! Now, she needs to cause a fucking scene too. GOD! How stupid can someone be. I stop when I see Kyla walk away from Ashley and into the middle of the street flailing her arms. I think she's having a mental break down.

"You want to know what happened, Ashley?" She says doing a complete 360 in the middle of the road. "Well, I'll tell you." I walk a little closer.

They have definitely drawn a crowd. What fun! Aiden sees me out of the corner of his eye and turns his head towards me.

"Kyla!" Aiden says desperately. A smirk creeps onto my face as I get closer.

"She stole money from the people in this town. She ruined their lives! But that wasn't enough! No! She had to go and destroy people instead. She had to go and rip the heart out of every person in this fucking town!"

"Kyla!" Aiden tries again. I don't know why he's even bothering. His eyes are going from Kyla's to mine, and I know he wants her to shut up. But even I know it's not going to happen

"Shut it, AIDEN!" She yells. Completely oblivious to the fact that I am there. "She took everything, Ashley and she deserves everything that she has coming to her."

"KYLA!" Aiden yells.

I'm about five feet from her now. Her back is facing me. I notice Ashley follow Aiden's gaze and a look of shock washes over her features.

"I'm not done, Aiden." She says fairly exasperated. "She killed me Ashley. The day she killed three fucking people, she killed me!" She pauses for a minute. _I killed her! She has got to be kidding me! _"Three people, ASHLEY! Three people, including my FATHER!" _My Father! Is she fucking serious!_

I see Aiden's and Ashley's eyes go wide and a loud gasp can be heard from the crowd that Kyla has managed to attract. I guess they finally connected the face on the flyer to me. Way to be a little slow on the uptake. Morons.

Kyla is looking from side to side and walking backwards slowly. I take a step forward and she rams into me, bringing her motions to a stop.

"Wrong again…Big sister." I say forcefully.

Kyla whips around in record time and her eyes go wide as she drops the flyers that are in her hands. I am still clutching the one that Collin gave me. Our eyes locked onto each other. The tension in the air is growing thicker by the second. I still think silencing a town is by far the best accomplishment I have made to date. But that is so not the point right now.

Right now I am looking at Kyla as she tries to back up from me, but I keep in step, making sure we are only inches apart. She won't turn and run because that would be pointless right now. I block everyone else out who is here and starting pushing her back even further with my hands.

"Stupid." Push. "Little." Push. "Good for nothing." Push. "Two-timing." Push. "Crazy." Push. "Fucking." Push. "Bitch." Push. "I mean really, Kyla! If you're gonna stand here and lie, you might as well get your story straight." I give her one final shove causing her to stumble back and over the curb, falling to the ground.

I start advancing toward her.

Sheriff Whitely comes up behind me and pulls me back. She scrambles to her feet and Collin grabs her arm. _Where the hell did they come from?_

"I'm not LYING, Spencer!"

"Huh…well I'm pretty sure you might want to rethink that Kyla, because I was with you the night dad died, you fucking idiot!" I yell.

"Spencer, please. This isn't going to solve anything." Sheriff Whitely pleads.

"Fuck you, Sheriff!" My eyes are still trained on Kyla and I am seeing red.

"Spencer just start taking responsibility for what you did!" Kyla yells.

"I didn't DO ANYTHING, you fucking wench!"

"Spencer, please. I'll handle this. Just go home." Sheriff Whitely tries again.

I turn towards him for a second. "Handle it like you did ten years ago? Thanks but I think I'll pass." My gaze finds Kyla's once again. "Why the fuck would I kill my own father, Kyla? What reason would I have to kill ANYONE? I was only seventeen years old! Did it ever occur to you that maybe…just maybe…everything that THEY said I did was a little on the impossible side of things! Did it?"

"It's not impossible, Spencer! It never was! You were smart! You could have pulled it off! You did pull it off!"

"Kyla!" Aiden tries. _Just be quiet you pansy!_

"Yes Kyla, because I'm some kind of fucking Houdini!"

"Everyone is gonna know what you did, Spencer! EVERYONE!" She says squirming out of Collin's grasp. "You wanna come back here and hurt the people I care about, then I promise you that you're gonna hurt just as much!"

"Oh…Kyla" I laugh. "Why don't you open that tiny fucking mind of yours and see what is right in front of your fucking face!"

"GIRLS!" Collin tries.

I push Sheriff Whitely back and he releases my arm. I move to walk to toward Kyla and he stops me again. "Spencer…" He tries. _Like I'm really listening to him right now._

"Did you think a little fucking piece of paper was going to make me LEAVE?" I yell.

I hold the paper up and ball it up in my fist.

"Think again, Princess! I haven't even started! This is just the beginning!"

"Two can play this game, you fucking cold-hearted bitch!" Kyla says.

"LADIES! ENOUGH!" Collin yells.

"Maybe…But you're not the one who's gonna win, Kyla. You want it to be this way! Fine! But, don't come crawling back when you're pathetic little world falls apart!"

"GIRLS, STOP IT!" Sheriff Whitely yells again.

"You're nothing but a fucking MURDERER, Spencer! A COWARD!" She yells.

"FUCK YOU, KYLA!"

"LADIES!" Collin yells.

"I'm gonna kill you, Spencer!"

"Then do it already, KYLA! I would love to see you try, you fucking half-wit!"

We break free from the grasps of Collin and Sheriff Whitely and lunge at each other. I punch her and knock her to the ground. She kicks my leg and causes me to fall onto the pavement. We are taking turns hitting each other, rolling on the pavement in an all out fist fight. Collin grabs Kyla by the waist and tries to pull her off of me. I kick him in the shin and switch positions so that I'm on top, hitting her in the face. Sheriff Whitely runs over with Collin and they try pulling me off of her. I elbow them, causing them to let go for a second and step back.

Kyla pushes me off of her and stands up. I follow and soon we are matching blows. We have blood from the cuts streaming down our faces. I know this is going to bruise. I know that I am probably just getting myself into more trouble. But, right now, I don't give a shit.

"WHY DON'T YOU JUST GO AWAY AND ROT, SPENCER!" Another punch to my face.

"BECAUSE THEN I'D MISS OUT ON THIS BONDING TIME, KYLA!" I punch her again.

Sheriff Whitely and Collin finally get a firm grasp around our waists and pull us back from each other. Our legs flailing in the air. Our arms still moving. We're trying to catch our breath.

"THAT'S IT! Both of you stop it!" Sheriff Whitely says with sweat pouring down his brow. "Everyone go the fuck home! Shows over!" He looks around but no one moves. "NOW!" He yells, never letting go of me.

"This isn't over, Spencer!"

"I wouldn't dream of it being over, Kyla!"

The crowd starts to scatter slowly and he pulls me towards his cruiser.

"Collin, take Kyla home and don't let her leave your site."

"What are you doing with Spencer?" Collin asks.

"I'm gonna make sure that she actually makes it home." He says.

I get into the Sheriff's cruiser and Kyla gets into Collins. Our eyes are still locked on each other. All the anger and pain of the last ten years portrayed through our eyes. The darkness we have let overcome us, taking its place at the surface of everything that we are.

I look over to where Ashley and Aiden are standing, glued to their spots. Ashley's eyes are on mine and her expression is unreadable. I completely forgot she was there. I lay my head back on the back of the seat and I close my eyes, wincing a bit from the pain. I shouldn't even bother caring about her. They're all the same. But I can't help but wonder what is going through her mind.


	16. Chapter 14 Part 1: Why The Confusion?

So I had to get you all at least one more chapter before I head out since I didn't update at all yesterday. Enjoy!

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**Chapter 14.1: Why is this so confusing?**

**Ashley's POV**

Holy Shit! I seriously thought that Kyla and Spencer were going to rip each other to shreds. There was so much venom and pent up anger coming out of the both of them that I was literally terrified. I didn't know what to think. Obviously it was something that was going to happen sooner or later but I was kind of hoping for later. Or at least until I had a better understanding of what the hell is going on with all of these people.

I will admit that the flyer was a bit unnecessary and it even made me angry, but Spencer has been so calm and collected that this is hardly the reaction that I was expecting to come out of her. I realized tonight that maybe the wounds go deeper than what is presented on the surface. Maybe everything surrounding this situation is more complex than it seems to be. I mean it has to be. Right?

When Kyla and Spencer were fighting, I could barely move. I kept having flashbacks to when I beat that girl for no good reason. I kept reliving my nightmare over and over again and I'm not really sure how to deal with that. My life has been filled with so much drama that I am starting to wonder how much more I can take. The sad part is that no one around here, other than Spencer, knows about my past. They think that my mother sent me here because she felt like I had no direction in life. I just stayed at home and pretty much did nothing because I didn't have to. It's not exactly like my family was hard up for cash or anything. Still, I never told them the truth and I'm starting to feel a little relieved because of it. But it makes me wonder how long my secret can stay buried by myself and Spencer, before it is going to come out. It makes me wonder if it will come out at all, and maybe that's why I am so invested in this. Maybe I just want to protect myself. After all, isn't that everyone's first instinct? To protect yourself and well being above everything else?

And there's a problem with that as well, because if I only wanted to protect myself, why would I feel this inherent need to get involved? Why do I care so much and how is it that Spencer always seems to be able to get under my skin? From the moment I met her, I knew that something was different. I knew that she was special. I knew that I needed to get to know her. And, now none of that has changed. Even with everything that has been going on. She makes me feel like I'm important and that's crazy because I have only known her for about six days. It's completely insane. Right?

And then there's Aiden and Kyla and everyone else who I have considered friends for the last three years. When I first moved here they accepted me for who I was. They didn't care that I was gay. They didn't care that I had an attitude problem. They didn't care about anything. They brought me into their little family and helped me adjust to the extreme culture shock that I was facing, after coming from a big city like LA... But they didn't trust me. They didn't tell me their secrets. They didn't tell me anything. But can I really be mad about that? I mean I didn't tell them mine either.

So when everything came to a head tonight, saying that I was a bit shocked would be a severe understatement. And after the block party, I didn't think it was possible to be shocked like that again. But I was wrong. I was wrong to think that everything would quietly work itself out without any huge confrontations. Actually you might as well just say that I was naïve because you'd be more accurate than I am being with myself right now.

During the fight, Aiden kept grabbing my arm and holding me back every time I would try to move. I didn't want them to kill each other and they had drawn a pretty big crowd. But he would grab me and stop me from moving forward, all the while keeping his eyes transfixed on the scene before him. I began to realize that he knew this was going to happen. He knew that eventually Kyla and Spencer would come to blows. It was inevitable really. It became one of those things that you had to let happen and just hope that neither of them would actually kill each other.

I remembered what Spencer had told me earlier in the day and I want nothing more than to believe her. Nothing more than to believe that nothing they are saying about her is true. But it's as if every argument has a counter-argument that can possibly hold some merit. It is so frustrating and completely insane. I don't know how anybody can tell what the truth is at this point. Part of me thinks that even those who were involved are having a hard time separating fact from fiction. I mean they have all lied and have been lied to for so long, that now there is just one big tangled web of lies that has been so intricately woven together to create an image of what is actually the truth.

And what has it done? Kyla has officially gone off her rocker. I mean the girl is seriously a few pennies shy of a full dollar if you know what I mean. Aiden has turned into somewhat of a masochist. And Clay, Chelsea, Glen and Madison, don't know whether they're coming or going. They have no idea how things got this bad so quickly, and their attitudes toward this whole thing change as often as the days turn into nights. It's almost as if part of them is happy that Spencer's back and the other part is afraid because the reality is; Spencer's back. Whatever that really means.

Like I said, this whole thing just keeps getting more and more confusing. Or maybe I'm just a moron. Which is also entirely possible.

Once Kyla and Spencer were both put into the cruisers, it was like a weight was lifted out of the air and everything seemed calmer somehow. I locked eyes with Spencer before she pulled away and her eyes softened a bit. It made me think that she only saves that softness for me. Like I am the only one she looks at with her heart on her sleeve, ready for me to take and protect. It kind of makes me feel special.

When they pulled away, Kyla going in one direction and Spencer going in the other, me and Aiden just stood there on the sidewalk for a few minutes. He still had his stack of flyers and I still had the one that I ripped out of his hands earlier, and the only sound that you could hear was the wind blowing in the night. After a few minutes, I could feel him staring at me so I turned to him. He put a hand on my shoulder and put his head down.

"We should go home." He said quietly.

"Yeah."

He nodded his head and started walking towards Kyla's house. I watched him go, waiting until he turned the corner before I started making my way home. And when he was about ten feet away he turned back towards me. He was staring at me intently and a tear fell down his cheek.

"Ashley…I'm sorry." He said before turning the corner and walking out of sight.

My brow furrowed. What the hell was he sorry for? It's not like he did anything to me. If anything, he should be apologizing to Spencer or even Kyla if he feels like he should be apologizing to anyone. I guess it's just one more thing that I do not quite understand. But what else is new?

I started walking back towards the apartment building. I think I just need some sleep and maybe some alone time to think about things. Maybe if I take a minute, I can piece some things together. I put my hands in the pocket of the hoodie I am wearing and continue the ten minute walk to my apartment. It's cool and quiet on the streets tonight since the sheriff told everyone to go home and I am beyond exhausted. Today has just been so draining. So filled with emotion and revelations that all I want to do is crawl into my bed and drift off to sleep.

Of course, that is the last thing I do. I am in the elevator of the building, but I am going past my floor and up to the top floor. I'm beginning to think that going up here is just something my subconscious is making me do. Who was I kidding anyway? If I went home, all I would be thinking about is Spencer, and all I want to do is make sure that she is ok before I go to sleep.

The elevator door opens and I turn the corner, making the short trip down the hall. The closer I get to her door, the more nervous I become. My stomach is doing flips and I have no idea why. I don't think that I have a reason to be nervous. I never really got nervous before, but this seems to be the reaction I get every time I am about to be around Spencer. I'm going to have to figure that out later too.

I get to her door, ready to knock when I hear yelling coming from the other side. I guess the sheriff hasn't left yet. They are in a heated argument. I lower my hand and listen to them. The last thing I want to do is interrupt.

"_Spencer, I am asking you to lay low for a few days."_

"_Lay low? Are you kidding me? None of this would have happened if Kyla…"_

"_That's not the point, Spencer!" He says frustrated._

"_Then what is the point!" She yells. "I am sick and tired of this shit, Sheriff!"_

"_Look, Spencer. It's only for a few days…until I can get everyone to calm down."_

"_Why?" She yells again. "Why should I make things easier on them? Why should I HAVE to do anything for these people?"_

"_Because, Spencer. Somewhere inside of you, I know that you are the same old Spencer that you use to be. It's one of the things I admired about you. And the old Spencer is who I am trying to appeal to." _

"_That Spencer died a long time ago, Sheriff."_

He lets out a frustrated sigh and I hear footsteps coming towards the door. I run around the corner by the elevator doors, just before Spencer's door opens and I wait. I don't exactly want them to know that I was listening.

"Sheriff, can I ask you something?" She says from her doorway.

"What?" He says tiredly.

"Do you really think that I did it? Do you think that I killed those people?" My ears perk up.

"What I think doesn't matter, Spencer. It never really did. Now get some sleep, all right. We'll talk soon."

I hear him walking the rest of the five feet down the hall as Spencer closes her door. I quickly press the button on the elevator, making the doors ding and open up. He walks around the corner and stops when he sees me. He looks defeated. He looks like someone just ripped everything that he had out of him. We have a staring contest for a few minutes until he shakes his head a laughs lightly to himself.

"How long have you been standing here, Ashley?"

"Umm…I just got up here."

"You going to see Spencer?" He asks.

"I was thinking about it."

He nods his head. "I see. Well I'm not so sure that she's in the mood for company."

I smile slightly. "I'll take my chances."

He smiles and pats my shoulder. "Ok then. Have fun with that. Good night, Ashley." He says reaching for the button to open the elevator doors.

Before he leaves I turn around. "Sheriff?" He turns and meets my gaze, walking backwards into the elevator.

"Yeah?"

"Everything that was said tonight…is it true?"

He looks into my eyes and shrugs. "It depends on who you ask." He says right before the elevator doors close.

Well, I was asking him but apparently he's all about being vague tonight. I turn the corner again and make my way over to Spencer's apartment. I take a minute to collect myself and then knock on her door three times, and wait for her to open it. I take a deep breath and nearly jump when she swings the door open.

"What do you want, Ashley?"


	17. Chapter 14 Part 2: Long Nights

**Ok...here's another one :) Enjoy! Let me know what you think!**

_egoserenade: __Wow. It makes me happy to hear that my story has touched you on such a personal level. I didn't grow up in a small town but I might as well have considering everyone knew everything and made it difficult for me to do anything, even be who I am. And having had to deal with that makes it commendable, to say the least, that you have been able to move on with your life and attempt to let it all go. I think it's important for us to relaize that we all can have a purpose in our lives even if it's just something small that's important to us. As far as the story goes, I am glad that you are enjoying it. The idea behind it is that just because you wish something wasn't true, it doesn't make it untrue. These people threw her away and never thought twice about it and now it's her turn to expose them for what they really are because you can't really make anything disappear and it's their turn to deal with the consequences of their actions, even if it is through her getting revenge. _

_slushhy: Sorry I couldn't update again yesterday but I'm sorry I'm making your head hurt :) Totally not my intention. I'm glad you're liking it though and things are going to be revealed a little with each chapter. But I can promise more chapters today!_

_DontMindBnCrazy: Thank you. Glad you like it. I'm a big fan of mystery and suspense. It's basically all I write with a few exceptions :) And I promise that you'll figure out what the hell is going on...it may just take some time lol. _

_TheLostandHunted: Thank you. I'm happy that you are enjoying it so much. And don't worry I will continue to keep posting. Writing is a major part of my life and it is always nice to hear what people think. I hope that you keep enjoyng it. _

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**Chapter 14.2: Tonight Is Going To Be a Long One**

**Ashley's POV**

"What do you want Ashley?"

I take a second to take in her appearance. She has a black eye forming and a cut on her right brow. Her lip is busted open and she has bruises forming on her arms. But she still manages to look beautiful. She has an ice pack in her left hand and I know that she's cleaned up a bit because there isn't any blood on her features anymore. If she's this beat up, I can only imagine what Kyla looks like right now.

"I was thinking we could talk." I say quietly.

"Apparently." She says a little irritated.

"Can uhh…can I come in?" _Again with the shyness. Where the hell is it coming from?_

She doesn't say anything, she just nods her head and walks back into the apartment leaving the door open for me to follow her. I am beginning to think that I will always follow her. _Wait…what? Always? _I shake my head and laugh to myself as I close the door behind me and make my way over to the kitchen where she is washing the blood off of a rag that she has used. Her back is facing me and I lean on the counter. She has a big bruise on her right shoulder that she must have gotten when she was on the pavement with Kyla. We stay there in silence for a few minutes. Both of us very aware of the situation.

"Spencer." I say softly.

"Hmm?" She says never looking back at me, but her tone a little less defensive.

"What happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"Tonight. What happened tonight?" She lets out a heavy sigh and turns the water off, turning around and leaning against the sink with her gaze on the floor. "I mean you've been so cool and collected that your reaction tonight was the last thing that I expected."

"Yeah…well…Kyla went too far." She says continuing to look down at the floor.

"I know that the flyer was unnecessary. I mean it even pissed me off." She looks up at me. "But why fight? There was obviously something more than just the flyer behind it. You two were out for blood."

She shrugs and leans over the counter so that she is opposite from me. She looks up and stares into my eyes. The color is returning to them slowly and she is softening up. I am pretty sure that she is going to let me in, and I am a little scared to find out what happened between the two of them to make them have so much animosity between them.

"So what if we were?" She says looking directly into my eyes. "That fight was a long time coming, Ashley. I was never a vindictive person, but for Kyla I am going to make an exception."

"She's trying to hurt you, Spencer."

"She can't hurt me any more than she already has, Ash. Flyers, stories, they're all the same. But, Kyla won't stop any of this from happening. No matter how hard she tries."

"But I don't…" _Wait…did she just call me Ash? God I love that._

"You don't what?" She asks standing back up to grab another ice pack out of the freezer.

"Uhh…it's just that I don't want her to hurt you."

"Why?" She walks back over to the counter and puts the ice pack to her lip, wincing at the pain a bit. I bet it stings like hell.

"Because I meant what I said earlier. I don't know why exactly, but you mean a lot to me and I barely even know you. I care about you, Spence. In some ways, I care about you more than I do myself and that scares me." I pause and make a gesture with my hands, in her direction. "I mean look at you. You're already beat up. What's next? Happy hour at the wood chopper?"

She laughs at that and shakes her head slightly. "Happy hour at the wood chopper?" she asks amused.

"Yeah…well…it's the best I could come up with right then." I say fidgeting a little.

"Ash, listen. This…" She says gesturing to the bruises and cuts on her body. "…is nothing. Believe me I've had worse and I've been in worse shape. You don't spend ten years behind bars without getting into the occasional fight." She walks around the counter so that she is right next to me, and I turn to face her. "So what are you really worried about?"

What am I worried about? I'm worried about you getting yourself killed. I'm worried about something happening and you getting put away again. Away from me. Away from what I know we could maybe have. I'm worried about you losing yourself to this hatred that you have building inside of you, and I'm worried about my secret coming out. Now, if only I could tell her that.

"I'm worried about losing you." _Well, at least it's the truth._

"I'm not going anywhere." She says softly.

"Maybe not right now. But…Spencer…street fights with Kyla aren't exactly going to win you brownie points around here." My voice a little higher than it should have been.

"And you think I care about that?" She asks, matching my tone with one eyebrow raised.

"You should?" I said sternly.

"Why?" She asks tilting her head a little bit. "Ashley…Kyla is part of the reason that I was behind bars in the first place. If she hadn't testified against me, then most of this probably wouldn't have been happening."

"She testified against you?" _And we have more confusion. What a surprise!_

She sighs heavily. "I told her what was going on. I told her the truth and she knew it for herself. She saw it with her own eyes, but she wanted me gone and she got her wish. She hated that I was so close to my father and that my mother let me off lightly when I would get into trouble. She twisted everything to her benefit and when they asked her to lie, she willingly did so. I guess you could say that we are out for blood, but nothing she can do can hurt me anymore."

I take a minute to process what she has just said. Kyla knew the truth and still turned her back on Spencer? She lied? On purpose? Spencer was sold out. What the hell is wrong with the people in this town? I mean obviously dignity and honor got thrown out the window a long time ago. But why? Why would Kyla do this to her own sister? Was it simply because she was jealous? I mean Spencer is the baby and probably got more attention than Kyla did. But still. How can someone end up hating their own blood so much that they would want them put behind bars and erased as if they never existed? It just doesn't make sense if it was just jealousy. I need to know.

"So she's doing all of this because she's jealous of you?" I ask with my brows furrowed.

"No…she's doing all of this because…"

The door slams open effectively making Spencer stop talking. I curse whoever is walking through that door and stopping me from finding out what the hell is going on and maybe even clearing things up a bit. Collin walks into the kitchen and stares at the two of us. Figures it would be this idiot. He looks a little angry. That seems to be the general attitude tonight.

"Seriously Spencer, if you're going to cause a scene at least let me know next time."

Spencer stands up and faces him. "Didn't realize that I had to go through you to have a little bonding time with my sister."

"Bonding time? Are you fucking serious?" _I think I am really starting to hate this guy. _"Bonding time is having a little chat…not a full blown fist fight in the middle of fucking town!"

"Relax Collin. You're freaking out over something that was bound to happen sooner or later. Take a breath because if you can't handle a simple fist fight, then how do you expect to handle anything else that comes up. I mean it's not like I planned this. She started it."

"That's not the point, Spencer!"

"Will the two of you just shut the hell up!" _Who the hell is that?_

A girl walks into the room and stands beside Collin. I look her up and down and shoot daggers at her. Who is she? What the hell does she have to do with any of this? And why is she smirking at Spencer like that? If she doesn't stop I may just have to…Spencer puts a hand on my shoulder. I look over to her, and she has a smirk on her face. Her gaze finds mine, and she smiles softly at me and winks before returning her attention to the girl in front of us. Collin throws his hands up in the air and takes a seat in the chair. I guess he's giving up for right now.

"Hello, Spencer."

"Taylor."

_Something tells me that this is going to be a long night._


	18. Chapter 14 Part 3: Are You In?

**Here's another one :) Hope you like it! I will be back with some more in a little bit.**

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**Chapter 14.3: Are You In?**

**Spencer's POV**

If looks could kill, I'm pretty sure that Taylor would be a goner. Ashley is shooting daggers at her and I can't really figure out why. I mean she can't be jealous. Can she? It's not as if we're dating or anything. I thought I was doing a pretty good job at opening up to her, which by the way, is more than I have done for anyone in ten years. And I don't think my attempt at reassuring her has helped any. But, it's not as if I can just come out and say 'Ash, you have no reason to be jealous of Taylor', because Taylor would have a field day with that, and the last thing I want to do right now is make Ashley uncomfortable. I'm sure this is an awkward situation to begin with, and Taylor loves making an awkward situation worse. Not to mention the fact that she's like three weeks early. I'm a little curious to know how the hell she managed to get out.

Taylor is eyeing Ashley up and down. I wonder what's going through her mind right now. I put the ice pack back on my lip. I'm going to be sore tomorrow, but it was so worth it. Kyla had it coming for a long time and I don't regret one second of it. It felt good, even though a part of me wishes that Ashley wasn't there to actually witness it. Taylor's gaze falls back on me and she shakes her head while walking toward me.

"You're not even out a week and you're already getting into fights, Spencer." She says as she continues walking towards me.

She stops about a foot away from me and lowers my hand from my face. She looks at me and inspects the injuries. Taylor lifts her hand up to grasp my chin, and turns my head from side to side. I am very aware that Ashley is watching her every move. Probably contemplating on the best way to rip her apart. Ashley does not look very happy right now.

"What am I going to do with you, Princess?"

"Well, you could stop calling me Princess." I say giving her my best smile. "You know I hate that name." She laughs lightly and drops her hand.

"I would. But then you wouldn't have anything to constantly bitch about." She says smirking.

Taylor turns her attention back to Ashley and raises an eyebrow. I think she knows that she's pissing her off and that cannot end well.

"So…who's this?" She asks.

I step around Taylor and move beside Ashley, placing my left hand on her shoulder.

"This is Ashley. Uhh…Ashley Davies." I turn my head to look at Ashley. "Ash, this is Taylor." I say softly.

Ok. So maybe I'm hoping that the use of her abbreviated name will make her stop looking so jealous and angry. Like I said, I don't want Taylor making an awkward situation more awkward and it seems to work as the anger in her face starts to dissipate.

Taylor seems to have a light bulb go off in her head at the mention of Ashley's name because her smirk grows even more and she steps forward a bit.

"The same Ashley Davies that you just happen to be crushing on?" She asks amused.

"Shut up, Taylor." I say walking over to the sink and dropping the ice pack in. I hate that she knows how I feel about Ashley. It's not like I can deny it. Ashley makes me want to be a different person. A better person.

I turn back around and am met with the most intense brown eyes that I have ever seen and she's still across the room. I don't think she knows what to say. Hell, I wouldn't either if I was in her position right now. There are so many questions and so much emotion flowing through her eyes right now, that I want nothing more than to lay it all on the table for her. But, I can't do it with an audience. I'll just have to make a mental note to tell her later.

Taylor has always been a straight to the point kind of person. She hates when conversations go in circles. So, why change a good thing? I break my gaze with Ashley and turn my attention back to Taylor.

"So, you're a little early." _That's right I'm getting the subject off of Ashley. _"What'd you do? Climb the wall?" I say smirking.

"Please, Spence. Give me a little more credit than that." She says putting her hand over her heart. "Climbing the wall is so unoriginal." She says taking a seat in the chair next to Collin. "Besides, why go sneaking around when you can just walk out the front door."

I push myself off the counter and go to sit on the couch, making sure that Ashley follows me. "And how exactly did you pull that off?" I ask pulling Ashley down on the couch next to me.

"Oh I have my ways." She says with a smirk, raising her eyebrows up and down.

"Is anybody else concerned about the big picture here?" Collin says exasperated. "That fight wasn't the smartest thing you've ever done, Spencer."

Taylor turns towards Collin with one eyebrow raised.

"Collin, do me a favor and shut the hell up. When we want your opinion we'll ask for it."

"Taylor this is stupid. She can't go around getting into fights. I mean how is it going to look if…"

"It was one fight, Collin. Lay off her already." She says turning back in her seat. "Besides you can't exactly say that Kyla didn't deserve it." _Well, at least the conversation has taken a turn away from me and Ashley._

"It doesn't matter if she deserved it or not!" Collin says standing up and pacing back and forth. "Spencer has got to keep her cool if…"

"I'm right here Collin." I say a little irritated. "There's no need to talk about me like I'm an idiot."

"Well, what did you expect me to say Spencer?" He says looking right into my eyes. "You know damn well, that fighting is out of the question."

"Why? Is it going to hurt your little ego? Not having the final say and all." I say somewhat condescendingly.

"It's not about who says what. It's about…"

"Please, Collin. Save it! Ever since I got home you have been doing nothing but telling me what to do. I know what's at stake here. I know that I need to stay out of trouble. But, I also know that it's my life and I do not have to answer to the likes of you." I say standing up and getting in his face. "Do you understand that or do I have to spell it out for you?"

"Well, maybe you should spell it out for me because bringing other people in was never part of the plan, Spencer." His voice is rising. "Maybe if you were thinking clearly instead of letting Ashley cloud your judgment, then this never would have happened and I wouldn't have to be cleaning up your mess!"

"First of all, I will talk to whoever the hell I want. And my relationship or whatever with Ashley is none of your goddamn business." I move a little closer to him. "Secondly, what mess are you cleaning up? I'm dealing with it. Not you. So why don't you just go fuck yourself and call it a day." I say giving his shoulder a little shove.

"Back away, Spencer!" He says, clearly getting angry.

"Or what, Collin?" I say not moving an inch. "What are you gonna do to me?"

"If you don't back away from me, you'll find out." He says grabbing my right shoulder and squeezing, causing me to wince in pain.

Taylor steps in and puts each of her hands on our shoulders, effectively placing herself between us.

"That's enough." She says looking between me and Collin before settling her gaze on him. "You touch her again…and I'll personally kick your ass and make your life a living hell. Do I make myself clear?" She says raising her voice.

"Crystal." Collin says through gritted teeth, taking his seat once again.

"Good!" She says angrily, before she turns her attention to Ashley. "Ashley, could you please go get the ice pack and give it back to Spencer. Apparently she doesn't understand the purpose of it."

Ashley nods her head and goes to get the ice pack from the kitchen sink. I think the sink is getting more action today than I have gotten in over a month. How depressing. I'll have to work that out later.

Ashley comes back into the room and motions for me to scoot over so that she can sit on my right side. I move and she places the ice pack on my shoulder making me jerk my shoulder away at how cold it is. She places a hand on the front of my shoulder and lightly puts the ice pack back on my shoulder blade, allowing me to get used to feel of it again. I don't care who you are, when you're bruised and beat up an ice pack can be your worst fucking enemy.

Taylor walks over to the window and looks out. Collin is glaring at me and honestly I couldn't care less. I'm more curious to know how Taylor is going to handle the part of the equation that has become Ashley. I hear Taylor take a deep breath, still looking out the window.

"Do you trust her, Spencer?" _What?_

"What?" I ask.

"Ashley. Do you trust her?" She says turning back around and looking me straight in the eye.

"Yes. I do." I say honestly. I would trust Ashley with anything. I'm pretty sure about that.

Taylor walks back over to the chair and smiles slightly. "Well, then…that's all that matters."

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**Ashley's POV**

I don't know what to think of Taylor. I'll admit that I was jealous of her when she first came in and I pretty much wanted to cut her hands off when she was touching Spencer. I know Spencer noticed but I couldn't help it. It was as if something just came over me. I want to be the one to make her feel better. I want to be the one who's there for her through everything and it hurts to know that Taylor has been the one who was there for her for so long.

But, just now, when Taylor was asking her if she trusted me, I knew that they had an unbreakable friendship. The tone of her voice said it all. I mean I don't know if anything ever happened between them, but I'm not exactly stupid. I can tell that Taylor only wants her to be happy or at least have some happiness in her life. And now I feel really stupid for being jealous. I mean even if I wanted to, I couldn't bring myself to make Spencer give up the only person who was there for her when no one else was.

"Ashley?" Spencer says from beside me.

"Hmm?" I say turning my gaze to meet hers.

"You ok?"

"Yeah…sorry I was just thinking."

"About what?" Taylor asks.

I turn my attention towards her. "Umm…well I was just wondering about you and Spence."

"I see." She says sitting straight up. "Well, there's not much to tell. I'm sure by now that you've figured out that we were in jail together."

I nod and she continues.

"Other than that we're just really good friends. I care about her. And I worry about her. And I know she cares about you, even if she hasn't admitted it yet."

I smile slightly and turn back towards Spencer.

"Are we going to talk about this shit or not? Because I'm getting tired and really I don't want to sit through a fucking history lesson." Collin says frustrated.

"Collin, nothing has changed." Spencer says firmly. "By the end of next week everything will be in place. So why don't you just relax."

"Have you told Ashley about your plan yet?" He says smirking. I think he thinks that he has one up on me or something. Which he does but that's beside the point.

"I would have if you hadn't come barging in here acting all high and mighty." Spencer retorts. _That's my girl._

"Sure blame me when you're the one who's scared."

"What the hell is your problem, Collin?" Spencer says angrily.

"He's pissed because you want Ashley over him." Taylor says evenly. _Way to start another argument Taylor._

"And what exactly would give you the impression that I would ever even be interested in you, Collin?"

"I don't give a damn who you like, Spencer!" He yells.

"Well, you're awfully defensive for someone who doesn't care. Maybe even a little jealous?"

"Fuck you, Spencer."

"In your dreams, asshole."

"Seriously?" I yell frustrated. Everyone turns their attention to me. "Can we just not fight for like two fucking seconds and just be civil? I mean Collin you seriously need to get over yourself. This is just ridiculous! Nothing is ever going to get accomplished by arguing every two minutes. And as far as the fight tonight between Spencer and Kyla. Well…that's their fucking business and who the hell are you to tell her how to deal with it. Kyla was totally out of line and while I may not think it was smart of Spencer to lose her cool, I'm not going to condemn her for it. I mean Jesus, Collin. Get over it already!"

I'm a little pissed off right now. Collin has been the biggest dick lately and I can't for the life of me figure out why. I mean I know that he has the hots for Spencer, but a blind person would know that she's gay just by looking at her and they can't even see for Christ sakes! No offense to the blind but seriously, the girl is gayer than RuPaul in drag.

"Well…tell us how you really feel, Ashley." Taylor says with a small grin. She looks over to Spencer. "I like her."

"Me too." Spencer says quietly. _Why not just throw our feelings out into the middle of the chaos._

"So what have I been doing exactly? Because no one wants to stick to anything." Collin says a little agitated. I think I may have hurt his ego. Guess it sucks to be him right now.

"You've been supplying information, Collin. Information that is going to help our Spencer here."

"You mean information that's going to get me killed. Right, Taylor?"

"Oh…stop being so dramatic. Timelines change. You have to roll with the punches. And now that I'm here we have even more resources. So stop being a fucking baby. The whole point in this is to help Spencer. So just help her and keep your mouth shut."

Well, that shut him up. I was beginning to think that nothing would. I think that he may actually be afraid of Taylor, which is kind of amusing in itself. I still don't know Taylor's story or why she's here, but I have a feeling that she's not here to play nice with the locals. I'll have to remember to ask Spencer about her later.

"Ok..then. First things first." Taylor says leaning forward in her chair. "Ashley, I need to know." She pauses to make sure she has my attention. "Are you in or are you out?"

I stare at her and then look at Spencer, taking her hand and squeezing it earning me a big smile. I love that smile. "I'm in." I say turning back towards Taylor, still holding Spencer's hand.

"Great…so in order for this to work, we're going to need a little help. So here's what we need you to do…"


	19. Chapter 15: Will It Backfire?

**I still don't own SON in case anyone was wondering :) Just using the characters to tell my story. Here's another chapter for you all.**

miluvrox: Unfortunately Taylor and Spencer aren't going to hook up but Spencer and Ashley aren't going to get together too quickly either. Some stuff happens before that does :)

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**Chapter 15: Will It Backfire?**

**Ashley's POV**

I hate this plan. This is a bad plan. Nothing good can come of this plan. Nothing good at all. I mean they can't really think that they are that stupid. Can they? And why the hell did I agree to this? I should know better than to agree to something before I know what I'm agreeing to. Seriously! Use your brain Ashley. Think before you do stuff! GOD! I am so stupid sometimes.

Now, don't get me wrong, I want to help Spencer. But this has 'BACKFIRE' written all over it in big, bold, capital letters as far as the eye can see. And Taylor! Well, it's safe to assume that Taylor is crazy. Yup…she's gone mad. She's one loose screw shy of the funny farm. Better yet…they're all crazy! It's just too bad that I'm falling for one of them…huh?

_Wait…that's it! If it backfires I can just chalk it up to temporary insanity by way of beautiful blonde haired, blue eyed girl. It's perfect! _

Yeah…right! Like I would ever be able to do that. Spencer's got me wrapped around her pretty little finger and we are not even dating. That's right! I am whipped and I wouldn't have it any other way. God…what is this girl doing to me!

Anyway, back to this kick ass plan that they are all giddy about. I mean I have to admit that if it works it will give them a taste of their own medicine, but again with the backfire thing. It would be nice to see them squirm for a bit. I mean the past always comes back to haunt you right? Of course, it's not calming my nerves any. Not one bit! Maybe I'm just nervous because a big part of whether or not we pull it off is if I can make nice with Kyla. Yeah you heard me right. I have to stay friends with Kyla and the rest of those good for nothing dipshits. I mean they're a lot of things but stupid isn't one of them, and if it were me, I would see this coming a mile away. I'm just hoping that they can't read between the lines. Ugh…What have I gotten myself into?

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_Taylor leans forward in her chair._

"_Here's what we need you to do. First of all, you need to stay friends with Kyla and the rest of them. It is vital that I meet them and I need you to do it. I need you to introduce us."_

"_Are you serious? It's not like they're just gonna let you in with open arms."I say with a little bit of disbelief._

"_Well, they won't have a choice." She says as she gets up and walks over to a bag in the hallway talking out a box and putting it on the coffee table. "Open it."_

_Spencer looks to her and then to me, before reaching over and flipping open the cover on what used to be a jewelry box. I let go of Spencer's hand and my eyes go wide as I take out the contents and hold it in my hand._

"_Where did you get this?" I ask._

"_Compliments of the State Department." She says with a smirk._

"_Ash, I think the question you want to ask is HOW did you get these Taylor?" Spencer says with as much surprise as I am feeling right now._

"_Spence, it's all in a days work. And you can relax because I didn't steal them. Collin's cousin gave them to me to borrow for a bit."She says with a wink._

_I put the contents back in the box and closed the top. Collin kept watching me throughout the entire exchange. Probably waiting for me to bolt or something. Not that the though hadn't crossed my mind briefly but still. What is it with this guy? I turn my attention back to Taylor._

"_Ok…so I introduce you and then what."_

"_Then you have three weeks to get them upstate. There's a cabin there that's owned by Spencer's family. No one's used it in a while. But they need to be up there by the last week in August."_

"_Why then? I mean none of them even like camping."_

"_Not now. But they used to." Spencer says reclaiming my hand. "And it's a special time for us. Or at least it was." She says with a slight smile. _

_Taylor leans forward and reopens the box, taking out the things I just had in my hands and lifting up the bottom revealing a secret compartment. She pulls out some tiny wireless cameras, and a couple of wireless bugs. _

"_We need to get these planted in their houses. We can't go into this blind without knowing what they're doing. So, we need you to plant them and I'll take care of the surveillance part." Taylor continues. "I'm going to show you how to do it before you leave."_

"_Is surveillance really necessary?" I ask._

"_If they figure out what we're doing, then we'll have to change the game plan. We can't do that if we don't know what they know."_

_Man, this is so going to backfire._

"_Ok. And what's Spencer going to do?"_

"_Spencer's going to learn to play nice." Taylor said looking at her. "And she's going to be the bigger person and try to put her family back together."_

"_Gee thanks, Taylor! Now I can be whole again."_

"_Stop being so sarcastic, Princess." _

"_Oh…shut up and just show Ash how to plant those things. I don't want you hogging up all her time." She says as she winks at me and goes back into the kitchen._

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And she did. The rest of the night was spent explaining all of the equipment to me and how it needed to be set up where they wouldn't find it. It's not that I don't think that I can do it, because I can. It's just that I have a feeling that I am in way over my head. And I don't want to be friends with Kyla anymore. It's not fair. I can't see Spencer during the day. I have to avoid her at all costs, especially when they are with me. It sucks and I don't want to do it. Yes…I'm being a baby but damnit I reserve the right!

Before I left her apartment this morning, Spencer pulled me into a hug and told me that everything would be ok. She said it would work out and I can't help but believe her. Then she kissed me on the cheek. It was so light but I can't deny the electricity that shot through me with that simple touch. God, this is going to be so painful.

I'm walking through the town square and I see Aiden come out of the coffee shop. He looks exhausted cradling his coffee like it's the best thing since sliced bread. He looks up, sees me and begins walking across the street. I stop and wait for him. Might as well start getting back in their good graces now.

"Hey Ash." He says tiredly.

"Hey Aiden." I say as we begin to walk in the direction of Kyla's house.

"Where'd you stay last night?"

"I just went home. Last night was emotionally exhausting…you know?" _God this is painful._

He nods his head up and down. "Yeah…it was." A silence falls between us for a few seconds. "So…uhh…did you see Spencer when you went home?"

"No, Aiden. It's not like I make it a point to go and see her." I say a little more defensively than I should have. _Way to keep your cool Ash._

"I didn't mean it like that." He said looking down at the ground as we continue to walk. "I just meant that maybe you ran into her or something. I don't know" He says quietly.

"Whatever, Aiden."

A slightly awkward silence falls on us as we make our way to Kyla's house. Aiden seems to be battling with something and I can't quite figure out what. For the most part, he's been pretty quiet since Spencer came back to town. But he still has his moments where his temper will flare. He follows Kyla around like a love-sick puppy. I'm starting to wonder when they actually have time to watch their daughter. They're so invested in this whole Spencer thing that I'm sure neglect is becoming an issue on some level. We turn the corner on Kyla's street and begin to walk the final leg to her house.

"I still think about her, you know. I think most of us do." _What?_

"Think about who, Aiden?" I ask as we get to the front door of Kyla's house. He turns around to face me.

"Spencer." He says simply, looking directly into my eyes.

I swear I see a hint of confusion, anger, and pain run through his eyes all at the same time. Is he really torn about this? Because I never would have thought that maybe he wasn't out to get Spencer just like Kyla is. But Kyla can be intimidating at times. Even I know that. I put my hand on his arm as I walk up the steps.

"Come on. Let's go in. I have some groveling to do." I say shaking my head lightly.

Aiden chuckles lightly as he puts his hand around my shoulder and leads the way into the house. The nervousness in the pit of my stomach growing tremendously with each step that I take. _Well, I guess it's now or never. Into the pits of hell I go!_


	20. Chapter 16: I Hate Her

**Here's Another Chapter for you all! It may be the last of the night. :( But if it is I will be posting another handful tomorrow. Enjoy! Let me know what you think.**

**Oh and I still don't own SON.**

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**Chapter 16: I Hate Her**

**Kyla's POV**

If I knew I was going to be in this much pain, maybe I would have rethought sending Spencer over the edge. I mean I hurt. I hurt bad. I hurt in places that I'm pretty sure I never knew even existed. I think the adrenaline that I had going last night tricked me into thinking that it wouldn't be so painful in the morning. Well, that's the last time I will ever let that thought cross my mind after a fight. And part of me cannot even believe that I let it get that far. I mean sure it was a long time coming and it was bound to happen. But, maybe it shouldn't have been so public. I was trying to make Spencer look bad and instead I made us both look bad. Way to go Kyla. You're a fucking genius.

I'm looking at myself in the mirror and I pretty much look like the creature from the blue lagoon. I have bruises on my face, shoulders, chest and stomach. I have a split lip and scratches all over my face and body. There isn't enough make-up in the world to make me look presentable. I never knew Spencer had it in her. I guess she's not so weak after all. Or in the very least, she is a far cry from the Spencer who I used to know. Guess I can't expect much though.

Don't get me wrong, I still hate her but let's just say I wouldn't want to have to meet her in an alley in the middle of the night. That girl packs a serious punch inside her tiny frame. And you're probably wondering why I hate my own sister so much. Why I would try to hurt her on purpose. Why I would just erase her like she never meant anything to me. Well, I'll tell you. Me and Spencer might as well have come from two entirely different worlds. Maybe I was a little jealous of her growing up but it was only because she always managed to get things easily. She never had to work for anything. She had everybody wrapped around her finger, and then she just went crazy and nobody thought anything of it. Teenage rebellion is what they said.

After a while, the town got sick of it and everybody starting acting strange. My dad included. I remember that Spencer was telling me everything that was going on and I seriously couldn't believe it. She said that my dad knew and that's when things between us went downhill. She said she overheard him talking about it one night and that she had followed him, but my dad was never one to allow people to get away with any crime, let alone the things that she was talking about. Then I got to thinking. I mean I knew Spencer was smart but she had to be manipulating the story somehow. She just had to be. I mean it was so outrageous that none of it seemed true.

So we started fighting. A lot. She couldn't understand why I wouldn't believe her and I couldn't understand how she could be so selfish. I mean she may say that she had nothing to do with what happened, but it is totally something that she would have done. Or at least I wouldn't have put it past her. It doesn't matter what she showed me or anything else for that matter, because giving her the benefit of the doubt wasn't an option at that point. Why? Because when I found out that my father was going to the police I knew it was because of Spencer. She never could mind her own damn business.

And then when we found out about the accident a few hours later, she just ran. She ran out of the house and didn't want to deal because she just couldn't face the reality that her actions had caused. If she never told my dad what was going on then he never would have felt the need to go to the police and he would still be alive today. Spencer still would have gone to jail, but HE would have been here and he would have been able to know my daughter. That's one of the main reasons that I hate Spencer.

The other big one is that I cannot condone murder, even if it was by the hand of my sister. She was never the same person after my dad died and she can spout all the stories in the world, but the truth is that she's blind. She just cannot accept that she fucked up and now she wants to hurt more people than she already has. It's absurd! And not only that, she also wants to try and take my friends away from me and sway them over to the dark side! Over my dead body! That's what I say!

I'm walking down to the kitchen to get some water when I hear the front door opening. I reach the landing, and in comes Aiden with coffee in his hand and Ashley right behind him. What the hell is she doing here? Surely, she knows that hanging out with Spencer definitely givers her a red mark in my book. But, maybe I should give her the benefit of the doubt. I'm sure she has a good excuse for abandoning our friendship in order to talk to Spencer. But she's another one that just doesn't listen. I told her numerous times to just stay away, but did she listen? NO!

Aiden walks up to me and gives me a light kiss on the cheek. When Ashley sees me, I hear her gasp and then offer up a weak smile.

"Looks painful." She says quietly.

"A little. Nothing I can't handle though." I turn and walk into the kitchen. Ashley follows behind me. "What are you doing here, Ashley?"

"I just wanted to check up on you." I turn to her with one eyebrow raised.

"Why's that?"

"Because last night was all kinds of hectic and I wanted to make sure you were ok."

"So…what? Did you go to Spencer first or something?" I ask angrily.

"Ugh! No…I went home! I was tired! Sorry I wasn't at your every beck and call!" _OK…she's a little irritated._

"Calm down, Ash. I'm sorry…ok." I say taking a bottle of water out of the fridge. "I mean she's no good and I'm only looking out for you."

"Yes, Kyla. I know." She say exasperated. "But, I didn't see Spencer. I'm just tired of that being the first question anyone asks me."

She looks exhausted and I wonder if she really did get any sleep last night. But, I decide to give her some time and change the subject for now.

"You hungry?" I ask.

"A little."

"Ok then." I move my gaze to Aiden. "Baby, will you grab some plates and silverware out of the cabinets and I'll start on making us all some breakfast."

"Sure thing, babe." He replies as he makes his way over to the cabinets.

Ashley takes a seat at the table and Aiden brings her over a glass of Orange Juice, before he sits down with her. The three of us stay in silence while I cook breakfast. I'm not really sure how to deal with Ashley right now. I don't know whether I should believe her or not, because if there is one thing I know about Ashley, it is that if she wants something or wants to know something she will do anything to find out. Even if that means talking to Spencer after I specifically told her not to. I mean I realize that I don't own Ashley by any means but you would think that three years of friendship would mean something. A lot of people think that she's hiding something and really, I think that she just had a hard upbringing. I mean she wouldn't keep anything major from someone she considers her best friend. Would she?

I finish breakfast and Aiden gets up to bring it to the table for me. I sit across from Ashley, and once our plates are full we begin to eat in silence. After a few minutes Ashley looks up and decides to break that silence.

"So, where's Meghan? I haven't seen her in a few days."

"She's staying with Aiden's parents until this whole mess is sorted out." I reply evenly.

"That's good."

"It keeps her away from the drama at least." I say shrugging my shoulders and continuing to eat my eggs.

"Yeah…I guess it does." She replies softly.

We fall into a slightly awkward silence again while we finish breakfast. Aiden hasn't said more than two words since he walked through the front door. I can't help but wonder what he is thinking about. I mean I'm not stupid. I know that he thinks about Spencer from time to time. She was his first love after all. But I think that I have made him see the light. And it doesn't hurt that I gave him a beautiful baby girl.

Meghan. She's my pride and joy. I don't know what I would do if anything ever happened to her. That's why I sent her to Aiden's parents' house. I knew she would be safe there and I couldn't even take a slight chance of something happening to her. Not that anything would, but I still felt like I needed to take certain precautions.

And don't look at me like that. If you were in my shoes you would do the same thing. Spencer's like a ticking time bomb. I mean she put our father in danger for Christ sakes! And look what happened to him. And you can call me bitter all you want. But I know her better than you. And I know that she's nothing but a manipulative, murderous bitch. She doesn't care about anyone other than herself. And I don't regret one thing that I have done to her. She has so many stories that I don't know what to believe. I didn't back then either and that's why I testified. I saw things for what they really were and I couldn't just let it go by. I'll admit that I wanted her out of my house and out of my life but she paved the way for that to happen. Not me!

Clay used to tell me that I was just in denial. That I was the one being selfish. That I was the one who was blind. But, it's not as if he stood up for her either. No one did. And she got everything she deserved. And I still think she got off light.

Ever since she's been back, Aiden's been playing Russian roulette with his emotions. I mean the smallest thing can set him off and I think it has something to do with the situation that we are currently in. Everyone but me seems to think that this can only turn out bad for us when the only one I see getting hurt is Spencer. And, honestly, how bad can that be?

But Aiden is another reason why I sent our daughter to his parents' house. His temper can be unbearable sometimes. And he's hit me before but it was more out of frustration than anything else. He hasn't hit me lately but I don't want to take that chance. It is bad enough I got into a street fight and look like a fucking Dalmatian, with all the bruises conveniently spotted around my body.

Anyway, I just think that they are the ones who aren't seeing things clearly. They're the ones who are scared of her. Not me. They can say that we know she's right, or that everything that she is doing right now is justified. But, it's not. And it never will be. She just needs to start taking responsibility for her actions. No one made her kill those people. She did it all on her own and now she wants to bring other people down with her? Good luck with that honey!

Ashley and I go into the living room after we finish breakfast, while Aiden goes to take a shower. She sits on the couch across from me and I can see the concentration written across her face. She definitely thinking about something and I'm tempted to ask her. I'm curious to know what she thinks about the situation now. Does she still want to know? Will I be able to answer her with full disclosure because I think that it's getting to the point where she kind of deserves to know. I mean if I ever want to keep her away from Spencer, I have to at least fill her in on who Spencer really is. I think I owe Ashley at least that. But, I'm going to wait until she lets me know that she's ready. Until she looks me in the eye and I can see that she can handle the bombardment of information. Or at least the information that I remember. I blocked some of it out and now I have blank spots where my memory should be. But that shouldn't make a difference.

Ashley looks up and I know that she's ready and waiting to hear what I have to say. I know that I have to talk about it no matter how much I don't want to. I need to make her see that Spencer is nothing but trouble. I need to make her see the truth behind it all.

I may not really remember a whole lot, but I remember enough. Tragic events make you block it from your memory and maybe I did that. But, that doesn't mean that I am entirely wrong here. It's really just a shame that they still can't see through her. It's a shame that they just do not know Spencer the way that I do.

But, they will and I'm about to fill Ashley in.


	21. Chapter 17: How About Now?

**Ok! Here's another one for you all! Enjoy! I will be posting a few more tonight so stay tuned! Let me know what you think.**

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**Chapter 17: Now is as Good a Time as Any**

**Ashley's POV**

Oh God, she Knows. She has to know. She's been staring at me ever since I walked through the damn door. She's keeping an eye on me as if she can see right through me. Maybe I was a little too defensive when she brought up Spencer. Maybe my pockets are too full. Are my pockets bulky? Oh God, she saw the bugs. No…no she didn't. Christ Ashley, keep it together.

I'm sitting across from Kyla in the living room of her house. My mind has been going from Spencer to the bugs in my pockets to Kyla, and then back to Spencer. It's a vicious cycle that I can't seem to turn off. I've thought about turning and running out of the house. But I can't because every time I think about it, Spencer pops back up in my head. Maybe Kyla is just waiting for me to say something. Maybe she's trying to see if I'm sincere or something. Sincerity I can do. But damn if she doesn't look as intimidating as hell right now. What is it with these Carlin women making me so fucking nervous? Granted it may be for different reasons, but does that seriously matter? I think not.

I watch her as she shifts in her seat. God, I hope she can't see through me. I hope that I don't blow this. Maybe I can make it a Spencer thing. Maybe I can just ask her to tell me what the hell is going on. You know, get her side of the story. I know what Spencer said about her, but Kyla has never been that vindictive before. At least since I've known her. Maybe there's more to it than just jealousy. Who the hell knows anymore. What I do know is that my palms are sweating and my heart is beating so fast that I think it may just pop out of my chest. Like I said, maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

Her eyes are still trained on me and quite frankly she's scaring me a little. Kyla and Spencer aren't so different when their eyes are filled anger. I know Kyla's angry with me, and I really don't care but I have to care. I think that's more frustrating. Is it wrong that regardless of everything that she has said so far, I believe Spencer over her? I've known Kyla longer and we have a longer friendship but something in me will not let me believe her. Is that wrong? Because a small part of me thinks that it is.

I watch as Kyla stands up and walks over to the bookshelf. She kneels down and removes some books from the bottom shelf. Then she reaches in and pulls out what looks like a photo album. She puts the other books back, picks up the album and walks over and sits beside me.

She places the album on the coffee table and I look at the cover. It has a picture of the whole family. I mean everyone. Kyla, Paula, Her father, I think his name is Arthur, and even Spencer. To say I'm a little more confused would be an understatement. I look from the cover to her and she is turned towards me, watching my reaction very carefully.

"I never forgot about her, Ashley." She reaches over to the album and her fingers trace the picture. "I just never could forgive her. She infuriates me and burying the happier times makes it easier." She looks back at me. "It made it easier."

"Why are you showing me this Kyla?" I ask suddenly finding my voice.

"Because you can't even begin to understand the problem if you don't understand what led up to it." She says softly.

I can still hear the shower running upstairs. "So explain it to me."

She looks at me and nods her head. Then she opens the book and smiles slightly. I follow her gaze and look at the picture before me. It's a young Spencer and Kyla lying on their stomachs under a tree, drawing and looking up into the camera with big, goofy grins on their faces. It brings a smile to my face, and then she starts to talk.

"We used to be a happy family without any real worries. Growing up me and Spencer were really close. Partly because we were so close in age and partly because our parents made us do everything together." She turns the page. "When we were teenagers we rebelled. But, honestly, what teenager doesn't?" She sighs, her fingers tracing every page. "But Spencer never got into trouble because of it. It was always my fault because I was the older sister and I shouldn't have let her get into trouble in the first place."

She stops and moves her gaze to me, so I look over at her and nod, urging her to continue.

"It made me angry, you know. I mean everything always came easy for Spencer. She was beautiful, funny, outgoing, and extremely smart. She was everything that I wanted to be but knew that I never could be. And the older we got the angrier I became."

She looks back over to the book and continues to turn the pages.

"So what happened to turn the anger into hate, Kyla?" I ask quietly.

She gets near the end and points to a picture of the family. I stare at it and you can see the change in them. All of them look like they've aged so much but they were still so young.

"This is the last picture that we ever took together as a family. Spencer closed herself off from just about everybody by the time she was sixteen years old. She couldn't get herself out of that rebellious stage. She started lying a lot and it caused this huge rift within the family. The only person she even remotely opened up to anymore was Aiden and even that was a rare occurrence."

"Aiden?" I asked thoroughly confused.

"Yeah, they dated for a long time. Almost four years if I remember right." _Dated? Since when? Or did I just not listen when she told me that? Did she tell me that? I'll have to figure that out later._

"Oh. So…umm…how did you end up with him?" I say slightly dejected.

"Well, one night Spencer came to me and told me that people in the town were stealing from the local businesses. She said she had overheard an argument about a week earlier that dad was having with some of the guys at the pub in the square."_ And what? That wasn't enough to convince you? _"I didn't believe her because my dad rarely drank if ever, and he wouldn't do something like that. He wouldn't get involved and not say anything. It wasn't who he was." _Apparently not._ "So, she said that she would prove it to me."

She stands up and starts pacing in front me. I still don't know what to make of this whole situation so I just sit there, praying to God that nothing falls out of my pockets or that she doesn't catch on. I'm trying to be sincere here. But part of me just wants to slap her across the face for being so stupid.

"She took me to the back alley of the pub late one night and walked over to a window that looks into the bathrooms of the pub. The window is a little high so we needed crates to look in. She stood on one of them and waited. When the mayor and a few other people walked in, she told me to look and listen. I did, but it was only to get this ridiculous outing over with."

She stops pacing and looks at me. Searching my eyes to make sure that I'm listening to everything that she's saying.

"I was only half listening to the conversation because I wanted to appease Spencer. I mean she was actually opening up to me for the first time in a long time. Once they were done, I started to step off the crate. But before I did I heard the mayor say; 'Wait a minute guys Carlin is going to be problem.' And then one of the other guys said; 'don't worry about Carlin. I'll take care of it.'"

She sits back down next to me. "So your father did know?"

She shakes her head. "At first that's what I thought too, but when I confronted my dad about it he just shook it off and told me that I must've heard wrong. And that's when I knew they were talking about Spencer. I mean they had to be. It was the only thing that made sense and she had the smarts to pull it off."

"So you just assumed?"

"No, Ashley. I didn't just assume. I knew. Spencer had lied so much that I don't even think that she knew what the truth was anymore. Anyway, after that I was even more outraged at her for doing this stuff to the people that we grew up around. So I wanted to get back at her and that's where Aiden comes in. One night we were hanging out and he was waiting in my parents' house for Spencer to come home. We were sitting in the living room and after a while I leaned over and kissed him. It caught him off guard but he kissed me back and one thing led to another and I wound up sleeping with him."

"He cheated on her with you?"

"Yes. And then we just never stopped. She found out a few months later and broke up with him. That's when we made our relationship official."

My hands have effectively balled into fists. I really want to hit her and Aiden too. The stupid bastard. But I can't and I think that is more frustrating than anything else. And how the hell could she just assume that Spencer was at fault for all of this? Ugh! This woman infuriates me.

"So what happened next?" I ask as calmly as I can.

"After that me and Spencer started fighting a lot. She couldn't believe that I didn't believe her and I couldn't believe that she wouldn't stop lying about it. I had no reason to believe her. And then things got worse. My father died and I blamed her for opening her mouth to him. If she hadn't said anything then he wouldn't have been going to the police and the accident never would have happened." _OK…now I want to kill her._

She leans back on the couch with her body still turned towards me. I look into her eyes, never breaking contact. Trying to keep my cool, when all I want to do is lunge at her and beat her like Spencer did. But I have to keep my emotions under control.

"And then the murders happened. The first one that occurred was before my father died. I could tell by the look on her face that she knew the guy. I mean when the news report came up, I just knew that she knew something. I couldn't figure out what, but then the second one happened. And she can't deny it, Ashley. She can't deny what happened that night. The evidence was there. At the crime scene, there was so much blood and the girl's body was so cut up that it was hard to even tell who she was. It took weeks for them to identify her."

"What makes you so sure that Spencer did it?" I ask still trying to remain calm.

She takes a deep breath and continues to stare into my eyes."Because we were all there." _I'm sorry, WHAT? _

Aiden clears his throat from the doorway. I wonder how long he's been standing there with his arms crossed and a pointed look at Kyla.

"Kyla can I talk to you for a minute? Alone." He says clearly agitated.

Kyla nods her head and stands up. "I'll be right back."

They walk out of the living room and down the hall, leaving me with my thoughts. They were there? All of them? Did I miss something? Seriously this is like some game of clue, where the truth is right in front of me, but I just can't see it. I can barely hear their muffled voices but I can tell that Aiden is angry with her. Guess he wasn't expecting her to open up. Hell, I wasn't even expecting her to talk to me about this. And is it just me or does this whole fucking situation just get more and more complicated every time one of them says something about it. I'm starting to think that I really don't know these people from a hole in the wall. I don't know any of them.

I slam my hand against the couch in frustration and my pocket rattles. Oh shit, I almost forgot about the bugs. I take a couple of them out of my pocket and take out one of the mini cameras as well. I strain my ears looking for any sign that they might be coming back, but I can still hear their muffled voices arguing down the hall. I stand up and look around the room. Guess now is as good a time as any to start planting them. I'll figure everything else out later.


	22. Chapter 18 Part 1: One Night of Peace

**So...who wants to know what happened that night? Anyone? Maybe? Well...the next couple of chapters will explain just that through flashbacks. **

**Flashbacks are in Italics!**

**Enjoy and as always let me know what you think!**

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**Chapter 18.1: Just One Night of Peace**

**Spencer's POV**

_I'm sitting in my room writing in my journal before I go to sleep for the night. Me and Aiden have been officially broken up for two months, and him and Kyla have been going out for just as long. Well, I guess it would be longer. The pen in my hand moves as if it is possessed. Writing all my hopes and dreams and fears. I hate vacation. I hate going on vacation and being stuck in a house with my sister and my ex-boyfriend. So, I'm sitting in my room writing. Enjoying the peace and quiet that the middle of the night seemingly holds. Getting every last thought out before I allow myself to fall into a nice deep sleep. _

_The only light in my room is from the small lamp that is aimed at my journal. I finish writing and close the journal, placing it on the nightstand with the pen on top. I turn the light out and lay down on my side, closing my eyes. _

"_AAAAHHHHHHH!"_

_What the hell was that? I jump out of the bed and open the bedroom door so fast that I'm surprised it didn't come off its hinges. Once I get into the hallway I see everyone running out of their rooms and over to the railing and down the stairs._

"_What the hell was that?"_

"_I don't…."_

"_GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!" Madison screams. _

_Her hands are held up in front her. I reach her and I see the blood all over hands. I see the horror on her face. All of us are surrounding her, asking her what's wrong. I take her by the shoulders and turn her around towards the living room. Never once has she stopped saying 'Get it off!' Although her voice has become softer. I get her to the couch and grab a towel off of the coffee table. She looks into my eyes. _

"_Spencer, please!" She begs through the tears streaming down her face. "Get if off!"_

_I start to wipe the blood from her hands. "Madison, what happened? Why are your hands all bloody? Did you cut yourself? Are you ok?"_

_She shakes her head, unable to speak. I continue to wipe off the blood and look at my friends who are standing around me. _

"_Madison, what happened?" Glen asks._

"_I…I just had to go to the bathroom." She says softly. "I…I never…I…I can't..."And she breaks down again. _

_All of us turn towards the bathroom. Madison's hand is gripping mine as if the world is coming to an end. All I'm thinking about is what the hell happened to her. It doesn't look like she has any cuts but that blood needs to be coming from somewhere. I stand up and Madison begins to rock back and forth. I look down and tell her it will be ok and she lets go of my hand. _

"Spencer?"

I am brought out of memory by Sheriff Whitely coming into his office. I have been staring out the window waiting for him for almost fifteen minutes. I came here for a reason. I came here because I need to know why he didn't help me. I need to know why he turned out to just be another clone in this unrelenting town. I turn towards him as he makes his way behind his desk.

"Have a seat." He says gesturing to the chair in front of the desk. "What brings you by?"

I sit down across from him and meet his gaze. The confusion is written all over his face. How could he just let it happen? How could he not stand up for me?

_We are standing in a line, facing the bathroom and Glen walks over to the door, picking up a bat by the fireplace on his way there. He reaches the door and looks back at us, holding the bat in the air as if he's going to strike. He pushes open the door and the bat falls out of his hand. He stumbles back into the wall, his hand coming up to cover his mouth._

"_Oh My God!"_

_I walk over to him. "Glen…" He just points to the bathroom and I turn. _

"_Holy Shit!"I say as my eyes go wide. The front door slams open and I turn._

Sheriff Whitely shuts the door to his office, making me jump. When the hell did he get up? He makes his way over to me and turns the chair beside me so that it is facing me and he takes a seat.

"Spencer, what's going on?" He asks with concern lacing his voice.

"They won't stop." I say looking into his eyes.

"What won't stop?"

I look away from him, wringing my hands and finding the ground extremely interesting at the moment. "They're just there all the time and they won't stop."

"Spencer." He says placing his hand over mine. "Spencer, look at me."

I move my gaze to meet his. "I just…I need them to stop."

"Spencer, when is the last time you actually slept. You look horrible."

"I don't know. I can't remember. All my days just blend now."

"Spence, you need to sleep."

"How can I when every time I close my eyes, all I see is that night. It plays over and over again. And now, it's worse than before."

His eyes close and he looks down. Away from me so that he doesn't need to see me. He doesn't need to see my pain. And now I don't know why I'm here anymore. I don't know why I'm telling him this. This isn't why I was supposed to be here. I don't why I'm feeling the need to tell him this. I don't know what I need anymore. He removes his hand and pinches the bridge of his nose.

I turn my gaze to the window and look out at the afternoon sky. Wishing that somehow I could just get rid of my demons without having to fight so much. I just want my life back. Is that so much to ask?

"_What the fuck is going on?"_

"_What the hell did you do?"_

"_I didn't do anything, Spencer."_

"_Bullshit!" I say walking back over to Madison. "That's fucking bullshit!"_

_I bend down and place my hands on hers in an attempt to stop her from shaking. She has stopped crying, but she's still rocking back and forth as if she's in a trance. _

"_I'm fucking out of here."_

_I look up. "Are you kidding me? You can't just fucking leave!"_

"_Watch me."_

Sheriff Whitely clears his throat bringing me back to the present. And it makes me think about Ashley. I haven't seen Ashley in a week. She's been talking to Taylor though, and I guess she got all the bugs and cameras planted which is a good thing. Part of me wishes that I could see her but if I do and they find out, it could ruin everything. The last thing I want to do is put her in a position like that. I hate myself for even suggesting that she help me. But, I didn't know what else to do. I trust her and I'm not really sure why. I'm falling for her and I'm not so sure that I want to.

I look back over at Sheriff Whitely and his head is still down. I can't read him anymore. I don't know what he's thinking and it's making me uneasy. Maybe he thinks that I've lost my mind. Maybe he thinks that finally the town got what they wanted. Maybe he's scared. I don't know. I stand up out of the chair and Sheriff Whitely looks up.

"I should go. I don't even know why I came here anymore."

I turn and make my way towards the door. I grab the knob and Sheriff Whitely places a hand on my shoulder.

"What do you need? To help?" He asks softly.

I turn my head to look at him. "I don't think anything can help me Sheriff."

He releases my hand and I turn the knob and walk out the door. When I get about halfway down the hall, I turn and see Sheriff Whitely standing in the doorway. I nod and make my out of the building and into the afternoon heat. I have no idea why everything seems so out of place. I just need some sleep. A good night's sleep will put everything back in order. I just want to be able to dream about anything other than that night. I just want one night of peace. And I don't know if I will ever get it.


	23. Chapter 18 Part 2: Just One Night

**Alright...here's part 2. Hope you like it! And there's a little more insight in this one! Let me know what you think!**

**Flashbacks are in Italics again**

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**Chapter 18.2: Just One Night**

**Spencer's POV**

_It's so quiet right now that you could hear a pin drop. No one is saying a word. Everyone frozen to their spots in the living room. Madison is still rocking back forth but she's not making a sound. Not anymore. I think she's gone catatonic on me. I'm rubbing circles on her back, trying to get her to stop. My hand methodically moving as I watch the tension in the room growing thicker by the second. _

_What the hell happened? Everything was going fine and now this. Regardless of what happens here tonight, it is not going to turn out good. We all know that. I mean how can it? There's a dead body in the shower of the first floor bathroom. And the blood. There's so much fucking blood. It might as well have been a massacre. A ritual sacrifice or something. I didn't even know that it was possible to get that much blood out of one person. I think I'm going to be sick. _

_God this is a nightmare. The silence is deafening. It's as if everyone is frozen in time. Glen is stopping him from leaving. His hand clutched tightly around his forearm. Not letting him budge. Not letting him walk away from this. They are in a staring contest. If looks could kill he would be a goner. I don't understand it. I don't understand what happened. Why it happened. Nothing makes sense right now. Did it have to do with my father? Did it have to do with everything else that has been going on? So many questions and no answers. My heart is beating out of my chest. The silence only lasts a few minutes but it seems like an eternity._

"_You're not going anywhere." Glen says firmly._

"_Get your hands off me man."_

"_NO!" Glen says as he pushes him into a wall. _

"_I'm not sticking around for this."_

"_Fuck you! I want to know what the hell is going on and you're going to give me answers."_

"_I can't give answers if I don't fucking have any." He says regaining his balance._

I'm trying to wake up. My eyes won't open. The night won't end. It just replays over and over. Every detail etched in my mind. My breathing is heavier. My heart is beating so fast. I just want to get out of it. I want it to end. I want to come back to reality but my body won't let me.

"Spencer."

I hear someone call my name but my eyes won't open. Please just let it end.

_Madison starts rocking faster. I think she's slowly losing it. I've never seen her react this way. Although we never have been in this situation. I don't think I'm helping her any. I stand up and walk next to Kyla. All of us have tear stained cheeks. This whole night has just been so surreal._

"_I'm calling the cops." I say walking to the phone._

"_Like hell you are!" He says grabbing my arm and pushing me into the wall. _

"_We can't just sit here and do nothing!" I yell. _

_It makes everyone take a step back. They're looking at the anger in my eyes and I'm not so sure that they really want to mess with me right now. After a few seconds he steps up into my face. _

"_You make that call and we all pay the price!"_

"_STOP IT!" We all turn at Madison's sudden ability to speak. "That girl in there is DEAD and you're going to stand here and fucking argue about it!"_

"_Madison calm down." Kyla says_

"_NO, KYLA! I won't calm down. I…"_

"_I'm calling the cops."  
_

_He turns towards me. "No, you're not!" He says grabbing my shoulders._

"_GET YOUR FUCKING HANDS OFF OF ME NOW!"_

"Spencer...Spencer wake up!"

There's a hand on my shoulder and I awake with a start.

"Don't touch me!" I say jumping a mile and sitting straight up.

My eyes open wide. Sweat is pouring down my body and soaked through my clothes. It takes a minute for me to get my bearings straight. I need to calm myself down. I feel a tentative hand placed on my back and I turn my head to see the person who saved me from the worst night of my life.

My gaze is met with her beautiful brown eyes. Eyes that are laced with concern and fear. Eyes that are slowly bringing my breathing down to a normal rate. She's rubbing circles into my back, never breaking eye contact with me. My heart rate comes down a bit and I start to relax. I swallow hard as I continue to look into her eyes.

I never wanted her to see me like this. I never wanted her to have to deal with this at all. But, here I am staring into the eyes of the woman that I am falling for and I can't help but feel a little safer than before. I know that she's waiting for me to say something. Waiting for me to explain this. But, I'm not so sure I can. I look away from her and notice that I am shaking. She gets up off the bed and walks over to the dresser.

"We need to get you changed, Spence. You're soaked." She says softly into the quiet of the room.

I look over at the clock on the night stand and notice that it's eight thirty at night. I don't even remember falling asleep. She walks back over to me and places the dry clothes on the nightstand.

"I'll wait outside."

She turns to walk away and I look up.

"Don't go." I say softly. She turns around. "Uhh…I mean…I just…" She nods in recognition.

"Change, Spence. I'm not going anywhere."

She turns around so that her back is facing me and I change into the dry clothes that she brought over. How can one night change everything? How can it still get to me after all these years? I pick up the glass of water that was sitting on the nightstand and take a small sip. Feeling the cool liquid rush through my body. All I want is one night.

"_What the hell do you think you're doing?"_

"_I'm not just gonna leave her hanging in there for Christ sakes!"_

"_Leave it be!"_

"_You're fucking crazy! You know that!"_

My hand squeezes the glass I am holding and I feel it shatter in my grasp. The remaining water crashes onto the floor. The glass goes with it in little pieces. You can hear it clanging off the hardwood floor. I feel Ashley grab my hand and I look down. I must have cut it. Blood is gushing out and there's a piece of glass imbedded in the skin.

"Oh God Spencer. Hang on…I'm going to get a towel." She says before releasing my hand and running into my bathroom.

I become entranced with the blood coming out. I can't control it anymore. I don't know what's happening to me. Why now? Why can't I keep the dreams under control anymore? They never suffered. They never had to deal with it. I did! I can feel my anger coming back to me. My resolve stronger than ever. I hate them. I hate them with everything that I am and I am going to make them pay.

Ashley comes back with the towel and some peroxide. "Spence, I need to pull the glass out ok."

I just look her in the eyes and nod.

"OK…on the count of three." She says. "One…Two…Three!" And she yanks the glass out of my hand and quickly covers it with the towel to try and stop the blood.

I can't stop looking at her as she works on my hand. She puts pressure on it and the bleeding starts to slow. She pours peroxide on it and grabs some gauze to wrap it up with. When she's done she starts changing my sheets. I don't say a word. Lost between my past and my present.

"_Don't tell me what to do!" I say as he pushes me up against the wall._

"_You stick to the story or I'll kill you myself!"_

Ashley guides me back onto the bed and under the covers. I'm lying on my side and she sits down on the bed in front of me. One of her arms reaches over and she brushes the hair out of my face.

"Stay with me tonight?" I ask softly.

She smiles slightly at me but doesn't say anything as she climbs into the bed behind me, wrapping her arms around me and giving me a kiss on my temple.

"What happened?" She asks quietly. Whispering into my ear.

"Aiden." Is all I can say as she pulls herself closer to me and wraps me up tightly in her arms.

At least for tonight I can feel safe.


	24. Chapter 19: Nothing Else Matters

**Here's the last one for the night! In theory I should be able to update tomorrow but I have a busy day so we'll see. **

**I Hope you like this one. :) Let me know what you think.**

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**Chapter 19: Nothing Else Matters**

**Ashley's POV**

_I was in the office working on some paperwork when my phone rang. Who the hell would be calling the office this late? I was only here to have some peace and quiet. I've heard all the I hate Spencer stories that I can deal with right now. And the fact that I haven't talked to her in a week is pretty much killing me. _

_The phone keeps ringing and eventually I just got annoyed so I picked it up. I had no idea that it was going to cause me to slightly panic._

"_Hello." I ask slightly irritated._

"_Hi, Ashley. It's Sheriff Whitely. Sorry to be calling so late. How are you doing?" He asks tiredly._

"_I'm doing ok. Yourself?"_

"_Oh, I'm fine." He pauses. "Look, I hate to do this. But can I ask a favor of you?"_

"_Uhh…sure."_

"_Would you mind going up to Spencer's apartment and checking on her for me?"_

_Now, I'm nervous. What the hell is wrong with Spencer?_

"_I could. What's going on?"_

"_She came by the office earlier today and she didn't look too good. If it's too much trouble I'll just come by and check in on her in the morning. Really it's no big deal."_

"_No…No. I'll run up there and check things out." I say a little too quickly._

"_Thank You."_

"_No problem. Bye, Sheriff."_

"_Bye, Ashley."_

After I hung up the phone, I grabbed the master key to Spencer's apartment along with my keys and locked the office and headed upstairs. I was a little nervous because I had no idea what to expect. If the Sheriff was worried, it meant that it was bad. Right? I mean it had to be something important for him to be concerned and to ask me of all people to check up on her. The thought briefly crossed my mind that maybe this was some sort of setup. Maybe Kyla was testing me or something. But as quickly as that thought entered my mind it was gone. I didn't care if it was a setup, I needed to make sure that she was ok.

When I entered the apartment, all of the lights were out and nothing but silenced filled the big space. I quietly closed the door and made my way to Spencer's room, feeling my way through the dark, waiting for my eyes to adjust. When I got to her bedroom door, I went to turn the knob but stopped for a second when I heard a small whimper. Was I interrupting something? I shook my head at that thought and smiled slightly. I swear I can be such an idiot sometimes.

I proceeded to open the door to Spencer's room and step inside. Once I got in, I looked over to the bed and found her tossing and turning. I walked over to her and noticed that she was asleep. I placed my hand lightly on her shoulder and instantly knew that she was sweating. I knew something was wrong but I couldn't wake her up. I kept calling her name but I got nothing in return. Whatever dream she was having had to be pretty bad. I went into her bathroom and filled a glass with water before returning to her side and placing it on the nightstand. I tried to wake her up again and this time I succeeded. But she jumped up so fast that it knocked me away from her. While she was getting her bearings straight I tentatively reached my hand over to rub her back. I wanted to soothe her and let her know that she was safe.

It's only been a week since I last saw her, so what the fuck happened? I knew that pushing her for answers in that moment wasn't going to be the smartest thing for me to do. So I just got up and got her some dry clothes to change into. Once she was finished, she broke the glass and I knew that whatever was wrong had her angry as hell. So, when she asked that I stay I couldn't refuse. She sounded so defeated and I have never heard her like that.

I have been lying here awake for the past two hours, just staring at her. Our positions shifted in the night and I am now lying on my back with her curled into my side. I can see the sun starting to come up through the curtains, and I am just running my hands through her hair. I can't get the last thing that she said out of my mind.

"_Spencer, what happened?"_

"_Aiden."_

I'm going to kill that fucker if he hurt her. I swear to God I will. I want to know what it's about but she looks so peaceful that I can't wake her up. I wish we could just stay like this forever. I wish that all of this bullshit could just be over with and that I could hold her in my arms and tell everyone else to just fuck off.

She begins to stir a little and I cease my movements in an effort to get her to stay sleeping. I'm guessing that she hasn't had much sleep lately. I know I wouldn't if I was having a nightmare like the one she was having last night. I close my eyes and breathe in deeply, trying to calm the frustration that's lying within me. When I open my eyes, I am met with her beautiful blue eyes staring directly into my brown, questioning ones.

"Morning." I say softly, continuing to run my hand through her golden mane.

"Morning." She says quietly. "Sorry about last night."

She looks down and I grab her chin, bringing her gaze back to mine.

"You have nothing to be sorry about, Spence."

"You were never supposed to see me like that."

"Maybe not. But, I'm glad I did." I say tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

She smiles slightly and sits up. Her legs hanging off the edge of the bed. I move so that I am right next to her. Our shoulders touching, and the undeniable electricity still shooting between us. She's staring straight ahead with her hands clasped together, and I look at her profile. She's even beautiful at six in the morning. It's breathtaking really and once again I am convinced that helping her is the right thing to do. I would help her anyway because I'm pretty sure that I am falling in love with her. It pains me to see her this upset. I just want to go back to bed and stay like that forever. I would be content to hold her in my arms. I know I would.

She turns to look at me and her gaze pierces my soul. She is staring at me so intently. Looking deep into my eyes. Asking me silent questions that only I know the answers to. Or maybe I don't. But, she's asking anyway and I am asking her the same. I know by the look in her eyes that she feels the same way about me as I do about her, and it makes me feel as if somehow this is all going to be ok.

I reach over and take one of her hands, never looking away from her eyes for fear that I might miss something. I grab her hand and she lets out a heavy sigh. If I'm ever going to find out what happened I guess I should start asking.

"Spence?"

"Yeah?" She says quietly.

"What's going on?"

"It was just a nightmare." She says softly before breaking eye contact.

"It didn't look like just a nightmare." I say squeezing her hand.

She runs her other hand through her hair and breathes deeply.

"I was dreaming of the night when the girl I was sent jail for killing was murdered."

And there's my opening. They never did tell me what them all being there that night meant. Obviously it's upsetting Spencer. I have a feeling that it should. I just want the truth. I just want her to be ok. I want us to be ok.

"What happened that night, Spence?"

She looks at me and I notice that her eyes are becoming dark again. Thinking about that night infuriates her. So why exactly am I pushing her when we're finally getting close? I mean it's not like she's gonna tell me right now anyway.

"Madison found her in the shower." _Or maybe she will._ "She screamed and we ran out of the rooms we were staying in to see what was wrong."

She turns her head to look at me and I squeeze her hand again urging her to go on. Silently letting her know that it's ok.

"There was so much blood. The girl was all cut up. It took them weeks to identify her." She pauses and takes a shaky breath. "Madison all but shut down that night until we started arguing. I wanted to get her down. Someone had tied her up in the shower with her hands attached to the shower head. She was just hanging there naked for all of us to see. But, Aiden wouldn't let me. Aiden wouldn't let anyone do anything."

Her voice trails off at the end of that sentence and my blood begins to boil. What the hell did that fucktard do? I swear I'm going to rip his balls off and then I'll feed them to Kyla. Then again she may like that too much. I might have to think of a new plan. For the love of God, Ashley! FOCUS!

"Then what happened?" I ask carefully.

I hear the front door close and Spencer turns towards the bedroom door. We hear footsteps outside and then another door closing. She shakes her head and closes her eyes. I am going to kill people for interrupting us all the fucking time when we're so close to opening up. Jesus, can't people have a little more courtesy. Fuck!

"You should go before they find out that you're here, Ash." She says softly.

She releases my hand and stands up, walking over to the window. Leave? Is she serious? I am not going anywhere. This girl means too much to me. I won't be one of them. I won't. I get up and walk up behind her. I put my hands on her shoulders, and she leans back into me.

"I don't care if they find me, Spence. I care about you."

She turns around in my arms and I hold on to her tight. I don't want to let go. Ever. We gaze into each other's eyes and in that moment everything seems so clear. Nothing else matters besides the two of us.

After a few minutes she licks her lips and leans in, brushing her lips against mine and making my heart swell with even more love for her as I return it with just as much passion. The kiss is not rushed. It's soft and filled with every emotion that we can no longer deny. And it fills me with a feeling that I know I can never live without. Because I realize that loving Spencer is the reason that I'm alive.


	25. Chapter 20: Are You Kidding Me?

**Here yo go! Enjoy! Let me know what you think. And for the record I still don't own SON, I'm just borrowing the characters. :)**

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**Chapter 20: Are You Kidding Me?**

**Spencer's POV**

I just couldn't hold it in any longer. I just had to kiss her. I needed to kiss her. I needed her to know that I understood what her eyes were telling me. I needed her to know that I felt the same way. I needed her to know that despite everything that is going on, I am still falling in love with her. That I am in love with her. Ashley means more to me than even I am willing to admit. She consumes my thoughts and invades my senses. She makes the whole world disappear, and makes me forget about everything else even if it is just for a little while.

I may not know how everything is going to turn out. This whole plan may backfire right in my face. Hell, it might not even take off as planned. But I do know that I want her to be mine for the rest of my life. I know that the thought of living without her in my life scares me more than anything that these people could ever do to me.

We are still standing by the window as we continue to kiss, letting out every emotion and feeling that we hold for each other with such a simple gesture. Letting everything else just disappear because right now, this is all that matters. Her lips are so soft and tender. Brushing against mine, as she pulls me impossibly closer to her. The space between us no longer in existence. She is holding onto me for dear life and I am doing the same. I never want to let her go. Ever. She tugs on my bottom lip lightly and I let out a small moan. God, the things this woman is doing to me.

She pulls back and I open my eyes to stare directly into hers. She brushes a strand of hair out of my face and traces my features with her fingers without her eyes ever leaving mine. A small smile creeps onto her face and I melt. No one has been able to break my resolve in ten years. I've know Ashley for two weeks and already she has me wanting to melt at her mere touch and break down. I'm pretty sure that I've got it bad for her. No…I know I do. But, I'm not complaining.

She pulls me in for another kiss that ends as quickly as it began. She pulls away again and I look at her with questioning eyes. Tilting my head slightly to get my point across. She just laughs lightly and shakes her head.

"Turn around." She whispers into the room.

I do as I'm told and her arms slip around my waist. I lean back into her and she rests her chin on my shoulder. I look out the window, and over the town that is coming to life with the morning sun. My room actually has an amazing view. Every time I look at it, I am still in awe because there is something so calming about it. Ashley places a soft kiss to my neck and moves her mouth to my ear.

"Do you have any idea how much I want you?" Her voice sends a shiver down my spine. "You're the first thing I think about when I wake up and the last thing I think about before I go to bed. You consume my thoughts and my dreams. You make me want to be a better person than I was before. You mean so much to me that it hurts to not be around you. To not be able to see you and hear your voice." She kisses me just below the ear. "I'm falling in love with you, Spencer. And I don't want it to stop."

My breath catches. She removes her arms from around my waist and moves back, breaking all contact. I turn around and look into her eyes. She is standing in front of my bed as I search her eyes for any sign that she could be lying. I know that I love her. Deep down I know that she feels the same way. But it has been so long since anyone has genuinely cared about me that I need to know that this is not a dream.

She's studying me. Looking at my reaction and a small smile creeps onto my face before I make my way over to her. I cup her face with my hands and kiss her lightly. I pull back and look into her eyes.

"Ashley." I say as I continue to gaze into her beautiful brown eyes. "I started falling for you the day I met you." She lets a smile grace her features as her arms wrap around me.

I close the gap and bring our lips together again. There is nothing soft about this kiss. All of our wants, needs, and desires displayed in a kiss that I wouldn't give up for anything. She turns me around and lays me gently on the bed before lowering herself on top of me and capturing my lips once again. Her tongue brushes across my lips asking for entrance and I don't hesitate. I part my lips and she slips in. Our tongues dueling for dominance as I let the feeling of our bodies being so close to together overtake my senses. Her leg moves in between mine and her thigh pushes into my center, making me moan into the kiss. Her hands begin roaming my body as they begin to lift my shirt. My hands make their way to hem of her shirt and I begin to feel the soft skin underneath. Every touch making my center ache for her even more. Our moans becoming lost in each other as we continue to explore. She pulls back and begins to kiss my jaw line, making sure to not leave one spot untouched. She moves to my neck and starts sucking on my pulse point, as her hands slowly make their way…

"Spencer, what the hell are you doing?"_ You have got to be kidding me!_

The door to my bedroom slams open. Ashley tries to get off of me quickly but my arms wrap around her tightly, keeping her in place. I look over to the door and see Collin.

"You ever hear of knocking?" I say rather frustrated.

I loosen my grip on Ashley so that I can sit up. She stands and adjusts her clothes as Collin walks into the room a little more.

"I should go." She says softly. _Uhh….no!_

I grab her hand firmly and stand up. "No. You shouldn't." I say as both of them move their gazes to me.

"Spencer…" Collin tries, but I cut him off.

"NO Collin!" I yell grasping Ashley's hand tighter. "This is ridiculous! I want her here, and I will not have you telling us what we can and can't do! GOT IT!"

"Spencer, you two can't go around being all lovey dovey and shit! It's going to ruin EVERTHING!"

"FUCK OFF COLLIN!"

Just then Taylor comes walking through the door.

"What the hell is going on in here?" _Not her too._

"I just walked in on the two of them getting ready to get it on." Collin says with a smirk creeping across his face.

"And your point?" Taylor asks turning her gaze to him. _Huh? She's not mad? What the hell did I miss?_

"Wait. You knew she was here?" He asks and she nods her head slightly. He groans in frustration. "Taylor, they can't be…"

"Shut it, Collin!" She says cutting him off.

"How did you know she was here?" I ask.

"I heard you two last night when I got back. You must have had another nightmare because I heard Ashley say that you needed to get changed. I know you well enough Spencer to know when you are falling for someone. I'm not going to take that from you. And I won't let this moron do it either." She says pointing to Collin.

Well, this is new. I didn't know that Taylor overheard that conversation. I can't believe that she's not mad. I mean I realize that I don't have to answer to her, but there is a lot on the line here and I know that. Ashley even knows that.

"Thanks." I say softly as Ashley squeezes my hand.

"This is insane!" Collin yells out into the room. "If they find out…"

"Then I'll deal with it." Ashley says firmly. "It's not your problem Collin and I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

Ashley's phone rings to life on the nightstand and she lets go of my hand to go answer it. She looks at the caller ID and rolls her eyes. She mouths the word Kyla to me before she lifts a finger to her mouth signaling us to be quiet. She answers the phone and no one in the room moves.

"Hello?" She asks into the receiver. "What for?...No…No I'll be there." She lets out a sigh. "Kyla I said I would be there….yea…twenty minutes….I got it….ok…bye." She snaps the phone shut and places it in her back pocket.

She walks over to me and slips her arm around my waist as she places a soft kiss on my neck.

"What was that about?" I ask as all eyes are on her.

"She's having a mandatory meeting." She says with a smile.

"Mandatory…huh? Still thinks she runs everything?" I ask amused.

"Something like that." She says.

"What's it about?" Taylor asks curiously.

"Don't know. She wouldn't say." Ashley says shrugging her shoulders.

"You should go and see what this thing is about." I say turning to face her.

She pulls me to her tightly. "Yeah…I should." She leans in and gives me a quick kiss on the lips. "I'll call you later." She says softly.

"You better." I reply giving her one more kiss before she lets go of me and makes her way out of the room.

"I'll let you know what happens." She yells back before she makes her way down the stairs and I hear the front door shut.

"Wonder what's going on." Taylor says once Ashley is gone.

"Maybe they found out about you two."

"SHUT UP, COLLIN!" Taylor and I both yell at the same time.

I hope that everything is ok. I hope they didn't find out about us because I don't even want to think about what they would do to Ashley. I can't lose her. I won't. Not when we have just really found each other. My stomach is twisting and turning and I feel like I am falling into a bottomless pit. Something tells me that this is not going to end well.


	26. Chapter 21 Part 1: A New Plan

**and another for your entertainment! :)**

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**Chapter 21.1: A New Plan**

**Kyla's POV**

Where the hell is everyone! I specifically said twenty minutes! Twenty fucking minutes! NOT twenty-five! That's right. Everyone is officially late. I mean do they think that I would have called a meeting this fucking early in the morning if it wasn't important! Priorities people! Get them straight!

Aiden is sitting on a chair in the living room while I pace back and forth waiting for these morons to show up. You would at least think that they would give me the courtesy of showing up on time. It's good to see that Aiden is being so damn calm about this. This is not a situation to be calm about. This is war! That man is pissing me off. We have a big problem and he chooses now to be all uncaring and mute! Seriously? What the fuck?

I have this morning's newspaper clutched in my hand. Rolled up and tapping it on my leg as I pace back and forth. I have other big newspapers that I subscribe to laid out on the coffee table. Front page up. I can't believe this. If she wants a fight she's sure as hell going to get one. I let out a frustrated sigh as the front door opens slowly. I guess they finally decided to show up. Clay, Chelsea, Glen, Madison, and Ashley come traipsing through the door with coffee in hand. They stopped to get fucking coffee! That's why they're late! Coffee can fucking wait, damnit!

"Where the fuck have you all been?" I yell.

"Chill, Kyla." Glen says holding up his coffee cup. "We got some coffee…there's one for you and Aiden too!"

"Well, you're late!"

"By like ten minutes!" Ashley says sitting down on the couch.

"Yeah, Kyla. Calm down. You'd think the world is coming to an end." Clay says sitting next to Ashley.

"Well, OUR world is!" I say slamming the paper down in front of them.

They all lean forward simultaneously and look at the display of newspapers in front of them. I watch as their brows furrow while they scan over the headlines. I am waiting impatiently for their reaction. A reaction that doesn't seem to be coming anytime soon. Ok, so maybe it's only been about ten seconds. But what the hell is taking them so long to react. To get angry about this whole situation. I mean they seriously cannot think that this isn't a big deal. Can they?

After a few more seconds, they all sit back and take another sip of their coffee. What? Did they all choreograph this shit or something? They're moving like fucking robots! And where's the goddamn anger?

"What the hell is wrong with you people?" I yell.

"What Kyla?" Glen says calmly.

"We already saw the papers." Clay adds.

"And none of you thought that maybe this was a slight emergency?" My voice rising.

"Emergency?" Madison says.

"Kyla, she sued the whole damn town. It was only a matter of time before it made national headlines." Clay tries to reason.

GAH! Seriously? What the hell is wrong with them? Did they go home and get hit over the head or something and lose all sense of reality. Do they even have any idea what national exposure means?

"You can't seriously think that Spencer had something to do with this." Chelsea says calmly.

My head snaps up at lightning speed.

"You can't be serious!" I say through gritted teeth. "Don't even sit there and tell me that you think she doesn't."

"It's a big story!" Chelsea yells.

"It was bound to happen sooner or later." Madison adds.

I continue to pace back and forth, picking up a glass vase and flinging it into the wall, causing it to shatter into hundreds of little pieces. My anger is boiling in my blood as I notice that all eyes are on me. That sure as hell shut them up. When did I lose control of this fucking situation? My hands ball up into fists. I really just want to hit something right now. But I need to calm down before I do something that I may regret later. Their eyes are just following me as I move back and forth while they take tentative sips of their coffee. No one has moved. I bet they're scared. Well, good! They should be fucking scared.

I know that Spencer is the behind this. She did this! She's behind everything! I know it! She just needs to fucking admit it and…wait! Light Bulb! Seriously, sometimes I think that I am too smart for my own good. I have a brilliant idea. Something she will never see coming!

I stop pacing and turn to look at all them with a smirk creeping across my face.

"New Plan." I say firmly.

They all look at me as if I have gone crazy. Maybe I have. Who knows?

"What are you talking about?" Ashley asks.

I sit on the coffee table and scan over them, one by one.

"If Spencer wants to play this game. Fine! But, we're going to play too." My gaze stops on Ashley and I stare into her eyes. "And we're going to play it better."

Ashley shifts uncomfortably in her seat but still holds my gaze.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean, Kyla?" Madison asks agitated.

I turn my head to look at her.

"It means that we are going to destroy her." I say standing up. "It means that this time Spencer's not going to be able to recover."

Madison shakes her head violently and stands up.

"No Kyla! This is crazy!" She says as she starts pacing the room. "You've lost your fucking mind! Just because it made the news, doesn't mean that she planned it this way! I mean for fucks sakes an ENTIRE TOWN IS BEING SUED! Don't tell me that you didn't see this coming from a mile away!" She says as she gets up in my face.

I'm not going to lie. I'm a little taken aback by her sudden outburst. And from the looks of it, all of them are too. Their eyes are as wide as mine are as I look into Madison's anger filled eyes. I guess I can give her a pass since she used to be Spencer's best friend and all. I'll just have to make her see the light like I did before. It really is a good thing that I stepped into her best friend roll and showed Madison away from the darkness that consumes Spencer. So, I'll give her a free pass, just this once.

I put my hand on her shoulder to try and calm her down, but she pushes it away.

"Don't fucking touch me!" She screams.

"Madison, calm down." I say softly. "I promise that everything will work out."

She chuckles angrily and looks at me. "You are seriously delusional. You know that." She says with an even tone before she pushes past me to the front door.

Aiden jumps up and blocks her exit.

"Sit down, Madison." He says firmly.

"Go to hell, Aiden. You two don't fucking own us!"

Aiden grabs her arms and violently walks her back over to the couch and pushes her down on it next to Glen.

"No one is leaving until we hear what Kyla's plan is." He says through gritted teeth. "WE all have a problem and we're all going to deal with it together!"

"Like we did ten years ago!" Glen yells.

"SHUT UP AND LISTEN, GLEN!" Aiden says before taking a seat and everyone falls silent.

I get up and stand beside Aiden, and place my hand on the back of the chair. I wait until I am sure that they are all paying attention to me.

"Come on, Kyla!" Madison says angrily. "Let's hear this fool proof plan of yours. I don't have all fucking day."

My smirk returns to my face as I make my gaze reach Ashley once again.

"Well, first things first, we're going to get reacquainted with our dear Spencer and make nice."

I can feel my eyes getting darker as their brows furrow. This is almost too good.

"And Ashley here, is going to be at the center of it."

All of their eyes go wide and Ashley looks at me in disbelief. If they think I'm vindictive now, wait until they hear the rest.


	27. Chapter 21 Part 2: New Plan?

**Here's part 2! Let me know what you think!**

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**Chapter 21.2: New Plan?**

**Ashley's POV**

What the fuck is that supposed to mean? Oh this…this is not going to be good. I can sense it now. Kyla has lost her fucking mind. And why the hell am I in the middle of this? AGAIN! I swear these Carlin women are going to kill me. Either that or they're going to drive me insane with these plans to get back at each other. But for some reason this one has 'I'm Screwed' written all over it.

The room is so silent that you could hear pin drop. Kyla is standing there with that smug look on her face and I would love nothing more than to smack it right off. I glance around the room and I notice that everyone's eyes are very close to popping out of their sockets. Seriously, what the hell is she up to now? I turn my gaze back toward Kyla and go to speak but Madison beats me to the punch.

"What the hell are you talking about Kyla?" She says evenly. "What makes you think Spencer even wants to get reacquainted?"

Kyla takes a deep breath and sits down on the arm of the chair.

"Madison, it's perfect really. Spencer lost her family. We're going to give it back to her. And…"

"And what? Take it away from her again?" Madison asks through gritted teeth.

_Something tells me that Madison wasn't all about this to begin with. Maybe she misses Spencer. I'll have to find that out later._

"No, Madison. You can't take something away that you don't really give a person. You see Spencer is human and has emotions just like everyone else." Kyla says calmly. "All we're going to do is make her think she has us again. We're going to build her up and break her down."

I look over at Madison and I'm pretty sure she's seeing red. _Yup, she definitely wants no part of this._ Kyla continues and her gaze is lock with Madison's.

"We're going to give her what she wants and then shut her down and get rid of her for good."

Madison chuckles lightly. "You really ARE delusional." She says through gritted teeth. "Seriously Kyla, this is crazy. You're crazy. And I'm done. We made our bed and because you're too chicken shit to lay in it, that somehow becomes our problem?" Her voice getting higher with every word. _Oh, she's mad._

I decide to chime in.

"And how am I the center of all this?" I ask trying to give Madison time to calm down.

"Well." Kyla says turning her gaze to me. "You're the only one of us that she hasn't had the pleasure of knowing."_ If you only knew._

"And that means…" I say urging her to continue.

"It means that you're going to hang out with her, Ashley. You're going to get her to open up and fall in love with you and then you're going rip it away from her." _Yup, she's fucking crazy all right. _"You're going to be the one that breaks her emotionally and we're going to kill her spirit. Or what's left of it anyway." _Ok…now I'm mad._

"Not a chance in hell, Kyla!" I yell standing up. "I'm not going to get involved only to bring her down. This is fucking insane!"

"Ashley I get that Spencer isn't your first choice. I mean really, she isn't anyone's, well with the whole killing streak and the dark side thing." _And now I'm gonna kill her._ "But the little bitch needs to know that she can't get whatever she wants. She needs to know that we won't stand for it."

"You need help Kyla! Serious fucking help!" I say throwing my coffee in the trash can.

"Getting even isn't going to change what happened, Kyla! Open your fucking eyes for once and stop fucking regressing!" Madison yells coming up to stand beside me.

"Fuck you, Madison! I do not regress!" Kyla says walking over to us. "That little bitch was nothing but a two-timing whore who…" SMACK!

I hear the noise before it registers completely. It was definitely hand to skin contact. I look down at my hands. Nope…no stinging. I look over at Madison and then I look to Kyla and see her holding her cheek. Realization hits me. Madison slapped Kyla. Hard too because I can see the outline of Madison's hand on Kyla's face. Everyone ran over to us, and Aiden was inspecting Kyla's face. The anger in his face growing by the second. I seriously think this whole group needs to take an anger management course or something.

"The only whore in all of this was you Kyla!" Madison says with a glare before turning on her heels and walking out the door. _Well, that's new._

I turn to follow after her but Kyla grabs my arm making turn back around. _Why do I suddenly feel like doing the hokey pokey?_

"Ashley, you need to get in good with Spencer." She says firmly.

"What happened to staying the hell away from her Kyla? She's bad news remember."

"This isn't a request Ashley." She says angrily. "I would hate to see anything happen to you."

My eyebrows raise and I harshly remove her hand from my forearm.

"That a threat, Kyla?" I say stepping into her personal space. "Because I don't take to kindly to threats."

"Not a threat. More like a promise."

"Whatever." I say walking out the door.

Aiden runs out behind me and gets in front of me, blocking my way.

"Don't fuck us over, Ashley." I try to push my way past him but he grabs my arm, holding it firmly in his grasp. "We all have secrets that are better off staying buried." He says into my ear through gritted teeth.

"Let go of her, man!" Glen says angrily.

Aiden releases his grip on my arm and I walk away toward the apartment building. What the hell do I do now? Option one tell Spencer and have her hate me or get her to play along. Option two don't tell Spencer and have her hate me. Oh, this is the life. I swear. But, something tells me that if we don't play along Kyla's going to wind up hurting more than just Spencer. I don't want to see that happen. Ok…tell Spencer it is. Like there was ever really a choice anyway. God, I hope she just plays along. This will make her plans a lot easier. It's going to make my life hell. But apparently no one wants to take that into consideration.

And what the fuck am I going to tell Spencer? 'Oh hey, Spence. You know that meeting Kyla wanted? Yeah…well the whole plan is to build you up and break you down. She wants me to make you fall in love with me….what?...you already have….oh that's right. Well, why don't we make it easier on us both? See she wants me to break your heart. So uhh…why don't we break up now and save everyone the trouble…won't work huh? That's what I thought.' God this is ridiculous. This is such a joke. I couldn't break Spencer's heart if I wanted too. It would only break mine too. _Well, haven't we gotten ourselves into quite the predicament. _Oh, shut up! This is serious. What reason would I have to hurt Spencer? It's not like she doesn't already know my secret. Seriously what could Kyla possibly do? Even if she did find out about the real reason why I'm here, I don't really care. It's not like it could do that much damage. And besides, I can always just leave.

I come to a stop outside of the apartment building and take a deep breath. This is turning out to be a very bad day. I just know it. I only wish that I knew where everyone else stood. I mean it looks like they've had it with Kyla and Aiden's crap, but you never know. Not with these people anyway. I walk into the building and make my way upstairs.

Why the hell am I so nervous? It's just Spencer. _Maybe, but you have no idea how she's going to take this news. _Oh yeah. That would be why the butterflies in my stomach are growing with each passing step. The elevator comes to a stop on her floor and I step out and round the corner. As I get closer to her door, I can hear yelling coming from inside.

"_What the hell were you thinking, Collin?"_ There's a moment of silence. _"Answer me, damnit!"_

And there goes more glass against the wall. I hear it shatter. What is it with the Carlin women and their fascination with breaking glass?

"_Jesus, Spencer. Calm down!" Collin yells. "This is a good thing."_

"_A good thing! Are you fucking kidding me?" She says her voice getting angrier by the second. _

"_Yes, Spencer! National exposure is a good thing." _

So it was Collin that brought the media attention. Figures. Jealous bastard can't keep shit to himself. I decide to make my way into the apartment quietly shutting the door behind me. I make my way into the living room.

"You've lost your fucking mind Collin! Who the hell is this good for? Huh? Tell me Collin because last time I checked this is going to have my name all over it."

"Grow up, Spencer. This story is huge. I couldn't let someone else break it!"

Spencer slaps Collin across the face and he steps right up to her, getting in hers.

"This isn't your story to break! This is my life, Collin. Not yours!"

He grabs her arm rather firmly and I take a step closer. Where the hell did Taylor go?

"Well, maybe you need to be brought down a few pegs."

"Get your fucking hands off me. NOW!" She yells.

"What are you gonna do about it, Spencer. Not so tough without Taylor here, are you?"

"Fuck you, Collin!" She says as she knees him in the nuts making him fall to floor. "Now, I have to spend time cleaning up your fucking mess!" _That's my girl!_

"Bitch!" He yells

I figure it's about time for me to make my presence known.

"That might be harder than you think." I say loud enough for them to hear.

Spencer turns towards me and Collin looks up at me from the ground.

"What do you mean? Is this what that impromptu meeting was about?" Spencer asks.

I nod my head and glare at Collin. "Kyla is putting it on you Spencer." I say still looking at Collin. "She has a plan to break you."

I turn my gaze to Spencer and I see the realization cross her face.

"Let me guess." She says with a smirk. "She's using you to do it."

"Good guess." I reply with a small smile. "But it's more complicated than that."

"See, Spencer. I told you this would be good." Collin says regaining his composure.

"Collin this isn't good, you fucktard!" She says turning towards him, as Taylor walks up behind me. "You just gave them the upper hand you fucking moron!"

"Everyone relax for a minute." Taylor says. "Things are more complicated now, but we have to work with it. And Collin, so help me god, if you do one more stupid thing I will kill you myself."

Everyone turns towards me. No matter how I look at it, this is not going to turn out well. I know it. I can feel it in my veins but the truth is that I'm in too deep now. I couldn't turn my back on Spencer if I tried. I really do love her and somehow that is all that matters. My eyes meet hers and she walks towards me, taking my hands in hers as she comes to a stop in front of me. I gaze into her beautiful blue eyes and I know that she deserves the truth. I know that she needs to be heard and I will not stand in the way of that. I know by the way everyone's been acting that they are covering something up and I won't be a part of that. Not now. Not ever.

"So, about this meeting." She says softly and I nod.

"I guess I'll just start at the beginning." I say as everyone takes a seat and all eyes are on me.

_This is so gonna backfire!_


	28. Chapter 22: This Should Be Good

**Hey Everyone! Sorry I haven't updated in a few days. I've been insanely busy. So Here's goes a few chapters for you all tonight and more tomorrow. **

**Oh and I will do some feedback on your reviews. I love getting them and reading about what you all think! :) **

**By the way, I still don't own SON. :) **

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**Chapter 22: This Should Be Good**

**Spencer's POV**

After Ashley finished telling us Kyla's plan, I needed to take a minute to process the whole situation. I mean who would have guessed that we would have come up with basically the same scheme? Although, I don't quite understand why she feels the need to use Ashley when her and Aiden do a bang up job of hurting me all by themselves. It just doesn't make any sense that she would feel the need to use Ashley as her way of getting back in with me, so to speak. But, then again, what does make sense these days?

And Collin is another one who is really starting to piss me off. At first I just let his actions go as jealousy because I know he's had a thing for me for a few years now. Not that it would ever happen because let's face it, he's not exactly my type and I kind of have a thing for one gorgeous brunette. But, lately he has just been crossing line after line and purposely making things more difficult. It kind of makes me wonder why he is doing it. It's not as if anything good is going to come of it. I'll just have to find a way to deal with Collin later.

Anyway, what the hell was I talking about? Oh yea…the meeting. So, while Ashley was telling us everything that had happened at Kyla's, Taylor was backing her up. You know with the bugs and all Taylor pretty much knows everything before I do anyway. But, I couldn't help but feel as if there was something that was not being said by either of them. It was frustrating because I could tell by their eyes that there was more to it. I mean there has to be more to it than Kyla just wanting to get back into my life and using Ashley to get close to me so that it can happen. I mean I know that in order for her to try and hurt me, she needs to be in with me and I need the same thing, so really this makes things a little easier on me. But still, I know there's something. A person's eyes and voice pattern don't lie. That much I know.

Ashley is sitting on the couch fiddling with her hands and I can't help but watch her. I have a feeling that my gaze is making her uncomfortable because she keeps fidgeting in her seat. Taylor is looking between the two of us.

"_So, that's it?" I ask quietly._

"_Yup." Ashley is quick to answer and glances to Taylor. _

"_It just seems so…uncomplicated." I say walking over to the chair. "Are you sure there's nothing else?"_

"_I'm sure, Spencer. I was there and I wouldn't lie to you." Ashley says finally looking into my eyes._

_I think that maybe she's trying too hard to defend herself. I look over to Taylor and she sighs. _

"_It really is that simple Spencer." Taylor says getting up. "She wants to get close to you and make you think that you have your family back, and then take it away from you again. She just wants to break your resolve. She figures that because you don't really know Ashley, that Ashley can get close to you and they can quietly incorporate themselves back into your life."_

And that was that. But, something still wasn't right. I know it. After Taylor finished talking, Ashley's phone rang and she answered it. It was another tenant in the building whose air conditioning or heating wasn't working right or something. So, obviously she had to take care of that and when she got up to leave I walked with her to the door.

"_Ash, are you sure that's all they said?" I ask softly leaning against the door frame._

_She looks into my eyes and takes one of my hands in hers._

"_We'll talk later Spencer. Alone." She leans in and gives me a soft kiss on my lips. "I promise."_

"_Ok." Is all I can say as I release her hand. She walks towards the elevator with her cell phone to her ear and talking animatedly to the maintenance guy._

I still don't know what the whole 'we'll talk later thing' is about because about five minutes after she left the apartment, I decided to leave for my walk. Like I said, I needed to process this whole thing. I mean I cannot believe that Collin went national with this whole thing, because it honestly is a slight setback and now they have the upper hand. And that is obviously something that I did not want them to gain at all. But, now I need to deal with it and I do believe that it may make things a bit more uncomfortable than they already are.

Walking through town to get to the quarries was fun. Everyone was staring at me and then quickly looking away when they realized that they were caught. And honestly I am not surprised. Of course everyone is going to think that I'm the one who sent the story out. They'd almost be crazy if they didn't because I'm the obvious choice when it comes to who would have done such a thing. So do I blame them for being even more irate? Not at all. But, I am going to kick the shit out of Collin for this. Now, I just wish I knew his real motive behind it.

I am sitting on a rock in the middle of the quarries that looks over a small lake. It is such a beautiful day. The sun is glaring off the water making it shine. The sky is so blue that looking up at it can almost make me feel like I am in a different place altogether. Sitting here and being completely alone has always helped me to think about things and see things a little more clearly than before. Sometimes I wonder what happened to this town to make everyone so vindictive and full of hatred. Sometimes I wonder what caused them to turn on their own. And I know I will never receive a straight answer from any of them. They just love talking in circles. But, I had to make them see that at some point it needed to stop. I have to stand up for myself and if they cannot understand that then that's their own problem, not mine.

Right now I am thinking about Ashley and Kyla and Aiden and this whole mess that I know I am walking right into. But, I can't help but think that maybe this will work out in my favor. I have to stay positive because at some point both of our plans are going to clash and one of us is going to wind up in a world of pain. I know that the outcome of my whole plan is going to shock them all. Some of them may not even believe it. But, not all of this town's secrets are buried and some of them were never meant to stay that way. Secrets like the one they tried to bury in me are no longer able to be swept under the rug. And that is just the way I want it. And I'm not so upset about having to hurt Kyla and Aiden in the process, but I am a little worried that maybe Ashley will get hurt as well and that is something that I am trying so hard to avoid.

In fact, I didn't even want Ashley to be caught in the middle of all of this. After our initial conversation with Taylor and after Ashley left, I got into a heated argument with Taylor over her whole big plan. I was not happy about it because the last thing that I wanted to do was put Ashley into a situation that I know she is not ready to handle.

I mean what if they find the bugs and figure out that Ashley is the one who planted them? What if they find out that Ashley is working on both sides and is caught in the middle of a seemingly impossible situation? What will they do to her? Will they hurt her? Will they find a way to make things work to their advantage? What if they just start seeing black and do to her what they did to me? Even I can see that she is caught in the middle of something that she just doesn't understand. I know that she's had her problems. I know that she's been in sticky situations before. But I could never forgive myself if something bad happened to her on my account. I could never live with myself if that happened.

And the truth is that I have no idea what is going to happen. So I am just playing it by ear and taking things one day at a time because if it does come down to it, then I know that I will probably protect her and forget about myself until I know that she is ok. I have accepted the fact that I am falling in love with her and nothing will change that. So I have to protect her because if the tables were turned I know that she would protect me. And that is what matters.

I cannot stop my head from spinning. The 'what if's' are beginning to plague me. A cloud of uncertainty is hovering above my head like a funnel cloud waiting to unleash its horror on unsuspecting victims. And I know that somehow I need to find a way to make things better because I am in too deep to stop now. I have to find a way to bring this to an end sooner rather than later. If for no other reason than my own peace of mind.

But I also know that there is no quick fix to this problem. I know that everything needs to play out as planned in order for it to work. And knowing that is what is making this whole thing harder. I know how Kyla's mind works. I know how Aiden's mind works. And I like to think that I know how Glen, Chelsea, Clay, and Madison's minds work as well, although they have been awfully quiet since I got back into town. And honestly the only two that I am worried about are Kyla and Aiden.

And then there's my mother. I like to think that somewhere inside of her she still thinks about me as her little girl. That somewhere inside of her she knows that everything was a lie. That she knows that I was a better person than what these people made me out to be. But, then I think about all the time Kyla has had to convince her that the stories were true. All the time Kyla has had to convince her that I am not worthy of a mother's love because of all the pain I have supposedly caused to others. And that hurts me more than anything. It tears at my heart like a knife slicing butter and I know that there is nothing that I can do about it. I know that I cannot change her mind. And, honestly, I don't think I could survive my mother's rejection again. So I haven't even bothered trying with her. I just wish I knew how she really felt.

After some time, I hear footsteps on the gravel that lines the quarry ground and they come to stop right behind me. I don't turn around because I don't have to. I know who it is. I know that walk. The heaviness of the feet are a dead giveaway and he's the only one who ever comes looking for me in this spot. We stay there in silence for a few minutes before I decide to break it.

"You know, it's so peaceful here that sometimes I just get lost in the calmness." I say quietly.

"It is the perfect spot to think." He says.

"Can I ask you something?" I ask quietly.

"Sure."

"Do you ever wonder about that night? About what would have happened if things turned out differently? About where we would all be?"

I am asking questions that I know are impossible to answer because you cannot answer the 'what if's' after everything is said and done. They tend to drive people crazy because the truth is you will never know. He steps forward and takes a seat beside me, looking out over the lake.

"Sometimes I wonder where it all went wrong and when I lost control."

"Do you ever find the answers?" I say turning my gaze towards him and looking at his profile.

"No." He says simply.

I nod slightly and turn back to look out at the lake.

"So why are you here, Sheriff?" I ask softly.

"Looking for you, Spencer. After this whole news debacle I was worried about you."

"Why?"

"Because I knew that they would think that you did it. That you leaked the story."

"And you don't?" I say turning to face him again.

"No. I know you didn't do it." He says meeting my gaze.

"How so?" I ask and he sighs deeply.

"Because I overheard Collin talking to a reporter late one night on the phone at work." He stands up and brushes the dirt off of his pants. "I suspended him for three weeks because of it."

He what now? Collin goes and gets himself suspended for being fucking stupid? Why am I not surprised? I am going to kill him. Seriously, I cannot say that enough! Of all the stupid things he could have done. Not only did he give the story national exposure, the son of a bitch has just effectively thrown a slight wrench in my plans. Oh, he is so gonna hear it when I get home.

I stand up beside Sheriff Whitely. "You didn't have to do that."

"Yes I did, Spencer. I really did." He says in a slightly defeated tone and lets out a deep breath before he glances back over at me. "Do you need a ride home?"

"No thanks. I think I'd rather walk."

He nods his head and turns to leave. "If you need anything let me know."

"I will."

He walks out of the quarries and back to his squad car. After I hear him pull away I begin the journey back to my apartment. I think it's time Collin and I had that talk. I am going to get to the bottom of this before I get hit with anymore surprises.

I cannot believe the moron got suspended. Taylor is going to have a field day with this one. I mean honestly how fucking stupid can one person be? I make my way through town ignoring the stares from everyone that passes by me because right now I am on a mission. A mission to knock some sense into that fucking idiot!

I get to the building and make my way inside. Praying that Ashley isn't in the office because I really do not want to take my anger out on her right now. I make my way to the elevators and so far, so good. No Ashley yet. I get up to my floor and it seems as though my plan to get to Collin first is working out in my favor. I swear I am going to tear him a new one for this!

I open the door to my apartment and I step inside to nothing but silence. Where the hell did everyone go? I search the apartment and Collin is nowhere to be found. He must have gone out or something. That bastard took off. I wonder if he knew that I would find out or if he is just going to pretend that he still has to go to work. Either way I'm still going to bitch him out. Now, I just need to avoid everybody else until after I have my little talk with him.

I'm in my room laying out some clothes, because I figured that I would take a shower while I'm waiting, when I hear the front door close. Thinking that it may be Collin, I walk out of my room and head downstairs. About halfway down I stop dead in my tracks and look into Ashley's eyes. She is so not the person I want to see right now because I'm a tad angry at the moment. She takes a step forward and when she does I notice that she is not alone. Madison, Glen, Clay, Chelsea, and my mother all walked in behind her, looking at me quickly before turning away. I guess they're a little nervous or something. But, what the hell is she doing bringing them here? And more importantly, what the hell is going on?

I make my way down the stairs and stand right in front her, but I look past her to the people standing behind her with their eyes cast down to the floor. I'm not so sure that they even know what they're doing here. I know that Ashley can see the anger inside of me because I'm pretty sure that my eyes have turned black from the anger I am feeling towards Collin at the moment. But knowing that they aren't going to say anything and wanting to get this over with, I decide to break the silence.

"What's going on?" I say a little angrier than I should have, causing them all to flinch.

Ashley looks back at them and then to me. "Just listen to what they have to say, Spencer." She says softly. "Please?...I think it's something that you'll want to hear."

I just nod my head and walk over to the window in the living room and they all follow. _This should be good or in the very least a little entertaining._


	29. Chapter 23: That Son of a Bitch

**Last one for the night. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 23: That Son Of A Bitch**

**Ashley's POV**

I know. I know. I 'm a horrible person. I still haven't told Spencer about how Kyla wants me to make her fall for me and then break her heart. But can you really blame me! I don't want to hurt her and I sure as hell don't want to lose her. I mean how can I break her heart without breaking mine? Or how can I do it and have them believe it, but still keep me and Spencer intact? Spencer is not going to like this at all and I know that. I also know that she knows that I wasn't saying something. But I couldn't say it right then. I couldn't find the right words to tell her and I still can't find those words.

When I was talking about what happened at Kyla's I was silently pleading with Taylor not to say anything. I knew that she knew the full story but I really didn't want to tell Spencer in front of Collin. That boy already causes enough problems and I'm not about to add fuel to the fire. He'd only try to get in the way like he always does, and I know he doesn't like me, so it would not have turned out good. In fact, it probably would have been worse. Lucky for me, Taylor got the hint and kept her mouth shut.

Now, don't get me wrong. I have every intention of telling Spencer. I would just prefer to do it when we are alone. That's why I came up here to look for her after I was finished with the maintenance guy and the air conditioning problem in one of the other apartments. But, when I got here she wasn't here. No one was here. And that struck me as kind of odd because someone is always here. This place is like a revolving door between the three of them, so you could imagine how shocked I was when I found that no one was around.

Of course, I started to worry about Spencer. Maybe she didn't trust me anymore. The feeling in the pit of my stomach kept growing and I had to go find her. The problem was that I had no idea where the hell I was supposed to start. So I just figured I would start in town and work my way out.

About ten minutes into my search for Spencer, I ran into Madison, Glen, Clay, Chelsea, and Paula. They were sitting in the park at a picnic table, looking like someone had just killed their cat. Madison waved me over and I reluctantly walked over there. At the time the only thing on my mind was Spencer and whether or not she was ok.

_I walk over to the table slowly, trying to buy some time. These people are the last people I want to see right now. But I can't exactly ignore them either. When I get up to the table, they all turn to look at me. It looks like they've been crying. Their eyes are all red and puffy and I can see the mascara marks running down Paula's face. What the hell?_

"_How long, Ashley?" Glen asks and I'm a little confused._

"_Uhh…how long what?"_

_Madison reaches over and puts her hand over my own._

"_How long have you had feelings for Spencer?" She asks softly._

_My eyes widen as I look around at everyone. How the hell could they possibly know? My mind is reeling and I'm not so sure that I know how to answer. As if he was reading my mind, Clay speaks up._

"_We can tell by the look in your eyes every time she's brought up." He says quietly._

_Am I that obvious? If Kyla finds out then I am going to be so screwed. But it's not as if I can lie now. I take a deep breath and tell them the truth. _

"_Since the first day I met her." I say softly. _

_After a few minutes of silence. Chelsea looks over to me and smiles._

"_Well, then. We need to come up with a new plan." Chelsea says and we all snap our heads in her direction. "Spencer's been through enough, and I'm sorry Mrs. Carlin, but we can't do this to her. It'll kill her."_

"_I just want my little girl, back." Paula says quietly. "I just want her back." She says I think she's in a trance or something._

After we sat and talked for about a half hour more, I noticed Sheriff Whitely's cruiser drive past us. I looked over and noticed that he was looking directly at us as he continued to drive by. I thought that was a little weird at first and then a light bulb went off in my head. Maybe he just talked to Spencer. I convinced everyone to come with me because I thought that Spencer needed to hear what they had to say. And that's how I ended up back at her place with everyone in tow.

Honestly I never knew that they felt the way that they did. No one would ever know unless you pried it out of them. But they were defeated in their tones and broken on the inside and I knew that they were in pain. I knew that something wasn't right and I knew that I needed to get Spencer to talk to them. Whether she wanted to listen to it or not, she needed to hear their side of things because it really blew me away. I swear small town secrets could kill a person if you let them. No pun intended of course.

Anyway, now we are stood here while Spencer sits in the chair just staring at us. Her gaze goes from me to them and I think she is finding this a little amusing. I can tell that she's trying to keep a smirk down. The light is coming in through the window and outlining her beautiful features. God, that girl is amazing. She's so beautiful. And her lips are so soft. I miss those lips on mine already. I miss her hands roaming my body in the heat of the moment. I just wanna….GAH! Focus, Ashley! FOCUS! Keep your hormones in check.

I turn around to look at the five of them behind me and motion for them to sit. I can tell that Spencer is extremely irritated. Her blue eyes are slowly turning black with anger and I can't figure out if it is because of me bringing them here or if she's mad at me about earlier, or if it's something else. Either way I know that even though she may look slightly amused, she's really more angry than anything else. She shifts her position and locks her gaze with mine.

"So, is anyone going to say anything." She says gesturing to all of us with her hands. "Or am I just sitting here for my health?"

I look around at everyone and I know that they aren't going to be the first to talk, so I decide to get things started and hopefully they will follow.

"I ran into them in the park a little bit ago and they were talking about you." _Ok…so even I know that was lame._

"And I care why?" Spencer asks trying to contain her anger. _Something else is definitely going on._

"Look Spencer." Glen starts. "We just want to talk to you about…about"

"About what, Glen?"

He takes a deep breath and looks up to her. "About that night. About why we did what we did."

Spencer stares into Glen's eyes before shifting her gaze over each and every one of them. Hell, I would even be intimidated by it.

"I see." She says standing up. "And what makes you think that I want to hear your excuses." Her voice is getting higher as she places her hands on the back of the chair and looks directly at them. "What makes you think that I give a rat's ass about any of you anymore, let alone the reasons why."

"They don't." Paula says softly before looking up at Spencer. "We don't." She pauses. "It's just that…We miss you…I miss you Spencer. I miss my daughter."

Spencer chuckles and shakes her head.

"You have got to be kidding me?" Spencer says exasperated.

"SPENCER?" _What the hell?_

The front door slams open and everyone whips their heads around to see who is causing the intrusion. I see Taylor running into the living room and when she sees everyone she stops dead in her tracks. She's fucking pissed. That much I know. I just don't know why she's pissed.

She locks eyes with Spencer and then looks at me. She never once glances over to the rest of them. She just keeps going between me and Spencer, who has her brow furrowed and is trying to figure out what is going on. I see Taylor's hands curl up into fists and I know that she just wants to hit something. What the hell did I miss? And please don't let her tell Spencer everything before I get a chance too.

After what seems like an eternity of silence, I decide to speak.

"Uhh…Taylor. This is…" I start but she cuts me off.

"I know who they are, Ashley." She says with anger lacing her voice as she finally looks over in their direction before bringing her attention back to Spencer. "And right now they are the least of my problems." _Now, I am thoroughly confused. Did Spencer do something to piss Taylor off?_

"Spencer, we need to talk. Alone. Now." She says.

"But Taylor, we were just getting to the good part." She says through a smirk.

"Now, Spencer!" _Ok…now I know something is going on. _

"Ok…let's talk." She says as she leads Taylor upstairs to the bedroom. "And you all can stay because our little talk was just getting good." She says walking the rest of the way up the stairs.

**

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**Taylor's POV**

What the fuck are they all doing here? Did Ashley talk to Spencer about everything and now they were putting things into motion or what? They are the last people that I expected to see when I came through that door. And I am already beyond angry. That sight just heightened my anger to a whole new level. But, I have a more serious problem right now. We have a more serious problem right now.

We get to the room and I close the door behind me after we enter. Spencer goes and sits on the bed, and I pull up a chair. Things just got a whole lot more complicated. I know that she knows that I am mad and I can tell that she's angry about something that doesn't involve the six people currently sitting in her living room. But, I'm dying of curiosity.

"So, what's that about?" I say pointing over my shoulder.

She just shrugs. "Don't really know. I guess they want to tell me how sorry they are or some shit."

"I see."

"So, what's the big emergency. Because if nothing else I could at least get a laugh…"

"It's Collin." I say cutting her off.

I watch as her eyes meet mine and the anger takes over.

"What did the moron do now?" She asked agitated. "You know other than getting suspended from work for his little national display."_ She knew about that._

"You knew about that? When did you find out?" I ask.

"About the suspension?" She asks and I nod. "About an hour ago. When did you find out?"

"About thirty minutes ago. And while that is a big problem for us, I think we have something worse to worry about."

"What's that?" She asks

I lean forward a little in my chair and clasp my hands together. Spencer is looking at me expectantly. Waiting for me to continue.

"Well, I was going to get some coffee from that little shop in the square when I overheard some arguing in the alleyway on the side the building…"

_I left not to long after Spencer went for her walk. I'm strolling through the town square trying to familiarize myself with this place a little better when I see the small little coffee shop on the corner. I decide that I could use a nice hot cup of Java and make my way over. _

_As I get to the front door, I place my hand on the door handle to open it but stop when I hear quietly heated voices coming from around the corner. Curious as to what is going on, I let go of the handle and quietly make my way over to the little alley. Being careful not to be seen by whoever is over there. When I peered around the corner into the alleyway I could feel the anger swelling up inside of me. Consuming every fiber of my being. Standing there arguing animatedly was Collin and Aiden. _

"_Well, what the fuck do want me to do, Aiden? Huh? I just got suspended because of you!"_

"_Keep your voice down. You wanna draw a crowd? And you didn't get suspended because of me. You got suspended because you were stupid enough to do it at work!" Aiden says stepping into his personal space. _

"_Well, that wouldn't have happened if you hadn't insisted that the story go national!"_

"_Oh shut up! This is perfect. Everyone thinks it's her and that's all that matters."_

_As I continue to listen to them, it is becoming harder and harder for me not to round that corner and give them both a piece of my mind. That fucker has been playing me and Spencer for years and I will not let him get away with this. _

"_And now we have a major setback." Collin says._

"_It's not a major setback, Collin. It's just a roadblock. Besides, if you were doing your job then none of this would have ever needed to happen."_

"_Fuck you, man! I tried but Spencer is fucking stubborn."_

"_I know that. But you had one job, Collin. One Fucking Job! And that was to keep Spencer and Ashley apart."_

_And now I'm really going to hurt him. I'm going to fucking kill him because now I know that this is not going to be good. That piece of shit turned on his own crew and that is completely unacceptable. Not to mention the fact that if Aiden knows about Spencer and Ashley then…._

"_It's not that simple, Aiden!" Collin yells_

"_Yes it is!"_

"_You know what? I can't deal with this right now." Collin says as he tries to walk away but Aiden grabs his arm._

"_Unfortunately you don't really have a choice, Collin." He says angrily. "I have a contingency plan that has already been set in motion. All you have to do is play along and let me know how it's going."_

"_What kind of plan?" Collin asks and an evil smirk plays across Aiden's lips._

"_We're going to kill two birds with one stone."_

_At that point the only thing crossing my mind was Spencer. I needed to beat Collin back to the apartment, if that's even where he was going to go afterwards, and I needed to tell Spencer. This was not good and I knew it. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what that contingency plan is and I have to find a way to stop it before anything bad happens._

After I finished telling her what I had seen, I could see the pure anger taking over her again. She was so mad that she was literally shaking. Her hands turned into fists. She was clenching them so hard that her knuckles were white and she was breathing heavily.

"So he's helping Aiden." She says through gritted teeth. It was a statement, not a question and I knew better than to answer. "How could he do this to me? To us?" She says angrily.

"I don't know Spencer. And I promise you he will pay for this. Big time! But there's a bigger problem in all of this."

Spencer looks at me quizzically for a minute before slight realization dawns on her and her eyes widen.

"Ashley." She breathes out quietly before making her ways towards the door.

Before she leaves the room I stop her and she turns to me.

"Spence, if Aiden knows about you and Ashley, then it's safe to assume that Kyla knows too." I pause and she nods as she goes to open the door. "If that's the case, Spencer. Then they're just setting Ashley up to see where her loyalties lie. And if it's not with them…"

"I know Taylor. I know." She says as she leaves the room and heads back downstairs.

I take a deep breath and close my eyes before I walk out of the room. This just turned into one big fucking mess and all because of someone who I trusted. Someone we trusted and he betrayed it. He betrayed the crew and because of that, only one thought crosses my mind.

_I hope Collin can run because I'm going to gut him like a fish for this!_


	30. Chapter 24 Part 1: What To Do?

**Here's another chapter for you all! I hope you like it! Things are about to get interesting...**

**I know I have been slacking on replying to your reviews but I will get caught up! :)**

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**Chapter 24.1: What To Do?**

**Spencer's POV**

I am slowly walking back downstairs with Taylor right behind me. A million thoughts are running through my mind. A million different scenarios as to how this could all play out streaming through my head like a rerun of an old movie. And I can't figure out how I didn't notice that Collin had turned on us. I can't figure out why I didn't see it before. I mean I have spent ten years studying people and keeping my mouth shut and yet he managed to have me fooled. He played me. He played all of us. And for that he was going to pay. One way or another he would not get away with this.

I mean is he really that pissed off that I wouldn't go out with him? Is he really that vindictive that he would turn against everyone who put him where he is today and make a deal with the devil? I just don't get it. He didn't do anything out the ordinary. Well, out of the ordinary for Collin anyway. He's always been the type to lash out when he doesn't get something that he wants or when he feels uncomfortable. But this? I never thought I would see the day when he would sink so low as to turn on those who took care of him for the last thirteen years. When he would turn his back on the colors that saved him. The crew that took him in and treated him like family, no questions asked. But, he's a coward. A fake. And he is going to regret the decisions that he's made.

As I reach the landing Taylor grabs my shoulder and leans into my ear.

"I'm gonna make some calls." She whispers. "Find out what this is about." She says slightly gesturing to the room full of people.

I nod and she walks out into the hall with her cell phone out as she begins to dial. I watch her leave before I turn to face the group of people before me. I need to compose myself because I don't know what they know and what they don't. I have no idea of their intentions anymore and as sincere as they may want to be I realize that I need to be more cautious now than I have been in the past.

As I scan over the group of people who are looking at me almost expectantly, my gaze falls on Ashley and I can feel my anger start to rise again. Not because I am mad at her. Not because she did anything wrong. But, because she is now in a devastatingly impossible situation and I cannot let her get hurt. I think I know what she wasn't saying before because there's really only one thing that it could be. I understand why she didn't want to say anything in front of Collin, but because she didn't she may have signed her own death certificate. A death that will not be delivered by my hands but by the hands of the devil. By the hands of a man who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. And it's killing me to think that I am the reason for this.

No. I won't let anything happen to her. If it kills me I will make sure that she's ok. Because without her I have nothing. Without her I am just another lost soul trying to find my way back. But she gives me the light that I need. She makes me feel and want to be alive. And that is something that I haven't had in so long. It is something that tells me that she's worth all of the pain and the tears. And I know that in order to keep her alive, we are going to have to the play this little game their way.

Right now her gaze is burning a hole into my soul. Searching my eyes for any semblance of information about what just happened with Taylor. She's trying to read me and she can't. I know she can't because I'm not letting her in through my eyes. I am not letting her read me because I need to finish this conversation and get them out of here so that I can talk to her. Alone. If they do know than I am certainly not going to give them the advantage of knowing that I know their plan. That and Collin will be home soon so the faster we get this thing over with, the better it is for everyone involved.

"Everything ok, Spencer?" Madison asks and I turn my head to look at her.

"Everything's fine." I say evenly while walking further into the room. "You wanted to talk. So talk. I'm listening."

"This whole thing is getting out of hand." Madison starts as I sit down across from her.

I can feel Ashley's gaze burning into my profile. I nod for Madison to go on.

"Kyla's gone insane. Aiden isn't too far behind. And the only person getting hurt in any of this is you. It's become so redundant that it would make anyone go nuts." She says exasperated.

I look up at her and she looks into my eyes. If I said that I didn't miss our friendship from time to time I would be lying. She was my best friend since we were babies and that isn't something that can easily be forgotten.

"I'm not the only one getting hurt." I reply evenly.

"Maybe not now. But back then you were." Glen says with his head down. "It should've been different. We turned on you and there's no good excuse as to why." He finally lifts his gaze to meet mine. "And any amount of 'I'm sorry' won't cut it."

"It's just not fair. You know?" Chelsea starts. "We should've said something, Spencer. But we didn't." She says softly as my gaze moves over to her. "We didn't because we were scared. Because we were cowards who couldn't stand up to them. And now things are getting completely out of hand."

I am sitting here listening to everything that they are saying and I just can't figure out if it is genuine or not. Maybe it's because of the recent information that has come to light. Maybe it's because I don't really want to know. To say they hurt me would be an understatement. They destroyed me and any chance that I had at a real future, and they know it.

"You deserve to be happy Spencer." Clay says. "You deserve to have some semblance of a normal life. You deserve so much more than what you have now. And we all know it."

"I lost my best friend once." Madison says. "Maybe forever. I don't know." She says standing up and walking over to the window. "But, I can't help but think that maybe we can get that back. Maybe we can finally make things right."

I stand up and turn my body towards her as she continues to stare out the window. They are making it really hard not to believe them but I am going to remain quiet and let them finish. Every couple of minutes I glance over to the clock. I need them gone before Collin gets back and if I cut in, they probably won't be.

"Kyla and Aiden have this plan." Madison continues as she lets out a deep breath. "They want you to break. They want you to lose everything and it's so exhausting." She says turning around to face me. "I am so tired of all this bullshit. It's beyond the point of simply being ridiculous. And the truth is, Spencer. That there hasn't been a day that's gone by that I haven't thought about you. That we…" She says motioning to everyone in the room. "…haven't thought about you."

Taylor walks back into the apartment and gives me a slight nod. I know that she made her calls and that the Collin situation will be dealt with soon. I turn back to the people in the room.

"It's not that simple." I say evenly, containing the anger that is still inside. "You hung me out to dry. All of you. And if you think that apologizing makes it ok, then you are seriously mistaken."

"We know an apology isn't enough. It never will be." My mother says standing up and walking over to me. "I may not know the whole story, Spencer. But I do know that you were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. In my heart of hearts I always knew that things were not quite what they seemed. And because I was so angry at you for lashing out after your father died, I didn't do anything to protect you. I didn't protect my little girl." A tear falls down her cheek. "And that is something that I am going to have to live with for the rest of my life."

"We want to help you Spencer. We owe you that much." Clay says.

I go to say something but get cut off by Glen.

"Don't answer now. Just think about it. We'll come back soon." He says standing up and walking towards the door. "Just don't dismiss it. Because, Spence, you can't do this alone."

And with that they are walking out the door, leaving Ashley behind. Once the door is closed Taylor looks at me tentatively with her eyebrow raised. I don't know whether to believe them or not, but I do know that we need to figure out what the hell we're going to do about this whole Collin and Aiden thing.

We both look at Ashley and I can see the apprehension in her eyes. I know that since I walked back down here she has been trying to read me to see if she could figure out what was going on. And I know that she had absolutely no luck with that. She shifts uncomfortably and turns toward me.

"Spencer, I was hoping that we could talk. Alone."

I look to her and then to Taylor.

"We can, Ashley. But, right now I think there's something that you need to know."

I motion for her to sit on the couch and I sit next to her, taking one of her hands in mine. Taylor sits across from us and places her head in her hands.

"We don't have a lot of time to debate this." I start, taking in a deep breath. "But, you are in an impossible situation."

"That's what I wanted to talk about because…" She says hurriedly but I cut her off.

"It's a little more complicated than you might think, Ash. Please just let me finish and then you can tell me whatever it is that you wanted to say before but couldn't."

She nods and I look quickly over at Taylor before beginning again.

"Things kind of got a whole lot more complicated. We found out that Aiden and Collin are working together." I pause as her eyes go wide.

"Are you sure?" She asks.

"I saw it with my own eyes, Ashley." Taylor says. "They set this whole thing up. The newspaper. The plan to get close to Spencer. Even the part where they use you."

"They want to see where your loyalties lie." I say softly.

She lets go of my hand and runs a shaky hand through her hair. She stands up and walks over to the window, keeping her back turned to me and Taylor.

"So what does that mean, Spence?" She asks quietly and my heart is breaking as she continues to stare out the window.

"It means that they're testing you. Well, Kyla and Aiden are anyway. I don't know what the others know." I say standing up. "Collin has been telling them everything that we are doing. That's why they put you in the middle of this, Ash. And I am so sorry. I never meant for this to happen."

She lets out a small whimper and I know that she's crying. Hell, if I was her position I would probably be crying too. I am at a complete loss as to what to do. I had everything so planned out and meticulous and now it is seemingly falling apart. I know that I cannot let that happen. But what choice do I have now?

"The important thing is that we can't let Collin know that we know about him and Aiden." Taylor says. "He managed to get suspended from work and the Sheriff told Spencer, so we are going to use that and see what he does." Ashley just nods as she tries wiping the tears from her eyes. "What we need to do is play their game, their way. We have to go through the motions as if nothing has changed. Because if we don't then it's only going to cause more problems."

Ashley nods again and I know she is crying hard based on the fact that her body is slightly trembling. I walk up behind her and slip my arms around her waist from behind, lightly kissing her neck before resting my chin on her shoulder. She leans back into me and I give her a kiss on the temple.

"It's gonna be ok." I say quietly.

"If this doesn't work they kill me…right?" She says quietly.

"It's going to work, baby. I promise. So don't worry about that. Ok?" I say softly in her ear.

She slightly nods her head and pulls my arms around her tightly as she begins to relax a little. How the hell am I going to get her out of this? How the hell am I going to fix this? She didn't ask to be a part of anything that is going on and suddenly she finds herself in the middle of a fight that she can't possibly win on her own. It's a catch-22. She either remains loyal to me and they try to hurt her, or she remains loyal to them and we both wind up hurt because of it. It's a no-win situation and we both know it.

But if I can find a way to make it work in our favor then maybe we can cut this whole thing off at the impasse. Maybe I can make things right and teach them a lesson in the process. I think it's time for a new plan of our own. I think it's time that the player's get played and I have an idea that could end this whole thing once and for all. But, I wonder how many strings I can get pulled in two weeks. I squeeze Ashley a little tighter and bring my mouth back up to her ear, kissing the shell of her ear softly before whispering.

"I promise you that I am not going to let anyone hurt you. Not now. Not ever. I just need you to trust me."

"I do, baby. I do trust you." She says turning in my arms to face me.

"Good." I say before leaning in to give her a much needed kiss.

We don't let it get too deep because Taylor is still here and we will have plenty of alone time later to work all this out. And by this I mean the obvious sexual tension that we are harboring. As I pull away from the kiss, the front door opens and I smile slightly at her causing her to smile in return. I release her from my hold and she walks into the kitchen as Collin makes his way into the living room. All three of us stare at the intrusion and it takes everything that I have not to beat the shit out of him where he stands.

Oh…believe me he is going to get his tonight. Just not all the way because if he wants to play this little game of deceit, then we're gonna play right along with him. He places his bag on the floor by the fireplace and looks up at us.

"Hey Ladies, how's your day going?"

"It's been interesting. Yours?" Taylor says trying to bait him.

Ashley walks back over to me and slips an arm around my waist.

"Oh…you know. Work can be a bitch sometimes."

And he took it. Hook, line and sinker.

"I bet it can be." I say evenly as I begin to walk over to him. "Tell me, Collin. What DOES a person have to do to get suspended?"

His eyes go wide and he tries to go for the door, but it slams shut and his way out is blocked by one of the biggest, meanest fuckers you will ever meet. Because Big Joe isn't going to let him walk out of this apartment in one piece and he knows it.

His eyes go wide and he swallows hard. So hard that even Ashley can hear it. Collin turns back around and he frantically looks from me to Taylor and then turns his head to Big Joe.

"I can explain." He says slightly panicking.

A smirk graces my features as I stare at the fear that is evident in his eyes. _Maybe I will get my laugh tonight._


	31. Chapter 24 Part 2: That's a Bad Idea

**Here's another one for you all and some feedback on your reviews! Enjoy!**

**slushhy: I love a good mystery...lol. Actually I just like to keep people guessing until the end. I love to hear what kind of scenarios or conclusions people can come up with. :) I'm glad that you're enjoying it!**

**DontMindBnCrazy: Your guess to some of what is going on isn't that bad actually. I won't tell you what is going on but I will tell you that nothing is a coincidence. I don't really believe in them so you know I reflect that. As far as Ashley and Spencer go I can promise that neither of them will die. Everything else is up in the air...maybe :) Either way I can tell you that things will become clearer with each chapter now and hopefully a lot more will be cleared up in the next chapter.**

**grangergirl22: So basically Collins an asshole...there's really no nice way to put it. I hate his character too but I can say that he will get his. And as far as Madison goes I think that it was time for someone to stand up to Kyla and her craziness. :) I guess you could say that Madison is starting to see the light. In a way they all are but all of that will become clearer a little later on. **

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**Chapter 24.2: That's A Bad Idea**

**Spencer's POV**

I love watching him squirm. It's kind of addictive and there isn't anyone who has been on Big Joe's bad side who hasn't squirmed at the mere sight of him. I mean don't get me wrong, Big Joe is like a big teddy bear, but piss him off and…well…let's just say that things do not necessarily end well in your favor. The man is six foot three inches and weighs about three hundred and fifty pounds. Of course that is three hundred and fifty pounds of pure muscle. In fact I'm pretty sure that he could give those Mr. Universe or the Strongest men in the world competition winners a serious run for their money. His arm muscles alone are about as wide as my body. Needless to say, I think I'd prefer to be on his good side. Right now, I'm pretty sure that Collin would too.

I look over at Ashley and I can tell that she's trying to get a feeling for Joe. He is intimidating after all and I don't think that she knows how to take him just yet. It's not like she's ever met him before. And meeting him when he is angry probably isn't the best way to meet him at all. But, what can I say? Collin needs to be brought down a few notches and Joe is the just the guy to do it.

I motion for Ashley to sit on the couch and if I didn't know any better I would say that she's a little nervous. She hasn't taken her eyes off of Joe since the damn door closed. It's kind of cute though. I give her a reassuring smile as she quickly looks at me before taking a seat. Joe has made his way over to Collin and has forced him down into the chair. One thing you should know. Joe is the nicest guy to ever walk the face of the earth, but if you cross him or those he cares about, he's going to make you regret it.

I can see the sweat start to form on Collin's brow and it brings another smirk to my face. This is almost too funny. Little does Collin know that we know the whole story. I wonder how much he's going to spill. That is if Joe doesn't effectively scare the shit out of him first. Collin looks up to me and pleads with me through his eyes to get Joe away from him and I swear that my mouth has formed into a big cheesy grin. This is great.

"Start talking, Collin." I say sitting next to Ashley. "How the hell did you manage to get suspended?"

He takes a deep breath and his eyes lock with mine. "How did you find out?"

"Collin it's a small town. It's not every day that a cop gets suspended from the force around here." I say a little irritated. "Everyone knows! So start talking."

He sits there contemplating his choices. I think he's trying to figure out just how much we do know and just how much he should reveal. I can tell that he is trying to read our faces, but we have all managed to make our expressions completely unreadable and blank. He shifts a little in his seat. Did I mention that I love watching him squirm? Because I do.

"Collin, you have one minute to start talking before I start punching." Big Joe says with anger lacing his voice while he continues to stand behind Collin.

Collin puts his hands up in defeat. "Okay. Okay." He pauses and takes another deep breath. "When I leaked the story, I did it at work and Sheriff Whitely saw me on the phone and overheard my conversation." He looks a little panicky as his eyes scan over us. "I know it was a stupid thing to do. And…I uhh…I wasn't thinking. Clearly I wasn't thinking." He says hurriedly.

"Not thinking?" Taylor says angrily. "Do even have a brain in that tiny little head of yours? I mean clearly your 'not thinking'…" She says using air quotes' as her voice gets higher. "…Is going to cause us more problems than YOU already have."

"I know…I know. I'm sorry." He says as Joe walks around to stand next to the chair. "It was stupid and I know that I put a tiny wrench in the plans." He says trying to stand up, but Joe grabs his shoulder and forces him back down. "Ok…so it was a big wrench."

"A big wrench that's going to get somebody killed, Collin!" I yell. "And I will not go down because of your sorry, pathetic excuse for a human existence!"

Ashley grabs my hand and squeezes it to try and get me to calm down a bit. I have been pissed about his for nearly two hours and she's trying to help me keep it together. But it doesn't stop me from yelling at the moron. And I know he's getting angrier with every second that passes.

"Seriously, Collin! Is it possible for you to think about someone other than yourself!"

"Spence…"

"It's Spencer." I say through gritted teeth.

He lets out a heavy breath. "Spencer. I'm sorry, ok. I didn't think it would cause this much damage. I thought that maybe it would help because it would shine a big light on the problem and force people to deal with it. I had no idea that…"

"People were dealing with it, Collin." Taylor says. "Everything was fine until you decided that involving more people became a fucking necessity!"

And that does it. Taylor's words send him over the edge.

"Look…I don't have to listen to this shit." Collin says angrily. "I have done everything that you all have asked me to and all I get is a big fucking headache for my efforts…"

"You only get a headache because you're a fucking moron!" I yell.

"Fuck you Spencer! It's your own fucking fault that you're in this predicament to begin with. You're the one who needs to grow a fucking brain because you're nothing but a weak, scared little girl who…" CRACK! Collin was cut off by a big fist in his face.

I heard the connection before I saw it. Big Joe punched Collin and I think he broke his nose because blood is streaming down his face.

"What the fuck?" Collin yells holding his hand over his nose.

"Apologize to the lady Collin." Big Joe says.

"Fuck you! This is ridiculous!" Collin says. _Bad idea, Collin! Very bad idea!_

Big Joe grabs his hair and pulls his head back so that Collin is looking up at Joe from the chair. Joe grabs his right arm with his free hand and yanks it behind the chair.

"Ahh! FUCK!" Collin screams in pain.

"Do you want your arm to match your new nose? Because I have absolutely no problem breaking every fucking bone in your pathetic little body." Big Joe says through gritted teeth. "Now I said apologize!"

Collin spits out a little blood. "And I said Fuck You!"

Joe twists his arms a little more. "Say it!"

"FUCK!" Collin yells again.

His arm is twisted a little more.

"Say it!"

"AHH! FUCK…FUCK!" Collin says through gritted teeth and obviously in a lot of pain.

"Fucking say it! You piece of shit!" Joe says twisting his arm a little more and I swear I hear a cracking sound.

"Okay…okay. I'm sorry…Spencer, I'm sorry."

Joe continues to pull on his arm as Collin continues.

"I didn't mean what I said. It's my fault. Okay. It's my fault that things are getting out of hand."

Feeling that Collin's apology will have to do for now, I nod in Joe's direction and he lets go of Collins arm, which makes it fall back hard against the side of the couch, and causes Collin to grunt in pain. He clutches his arm to his body and he is breathing heavily as he continues to spit blood out of his mouth and onto the floor.

Taylor throws him a towel from the counter.

"Clean yourself up! And then me, you and Taylor are gonna go for a little walk." Big Joe says evenly, patting Collin's shoulder and making him wince in pain.

After a minute or so of Collin staying right where he is, Taylor gets frustrated.

"Unless you need some more convincing I suggest you move." Taylor says angrily. "NOW, COLLIN!"

After that, Collin jumps up and runs upstairs like a bat out of hell. We all watch him as he makes his way into the bathroom and I let out a small chuckle when he is out sight. Big Joe winks and gives me a smile before making his way upstairs to keep an eye on Collin as he cleans himself up. Like I said I wouldn't want to be on Joe's bad side. He can be one mean motherfucker when he needs to be.

A few minutes later Collin comes walking back down the stairs with Big Joe on his heels. He has a bandage over his nose and his holding his left arm close to his body. Taylor throws him his jacket and again he winces in pain from having to catch it.

Joe smacks Collin on the back of the head and ushers him out the door. "We'll be back." He says as Collin is shoved out of the apartment.

Taylor walks over to me and Ashley and stands in front of us. "You gonna be ok?"

"We'll be fine." I say looking up at her.

"We'll be back in a bit. You two talk and we'll figure everything else out when I get back from teaching this asswipe a lesson." She says walking over to the door.

"See ya later!" I yell just before she walks out of the apartment, waving with a big ass grin on her face.

When the door closes, I turn to face Ashley and she literally looks terrified. I don't think that she was expecting things to happen this way. Well, at least not today. And Collin would have been fine if he just kept his fucking mouth shut. He should have known better. The fucking idiot. But right now my concern is her. Right now she is what matters.

"You okay, Ash?" I ask softly.

"Yeah…I just wasn't expecting it is all. I mean I know Collin deserved it but…"

"Big Joe can be intimidating?" I ask amused.

"Something like that." She says letting out a small smile.

Needing to feel her lips on mine, I lean in and give her a light kiss pulling back slightly because I know we need to talk before this goes any further. The longer we wait the more I want her and we need to get everything out in the open before we go there because these plans or schemes or whatever you want to call them are going to tear us apart if we don't. And that is something that I cannot live with.

Ashley however seems to have other plans as she grabs the back of my head and pulls me into her, kissing me hard. There's almost a sense of urgency behind it, but her passion and want and need are overtaking my senses, making me incapable of rational thought. She bites my bottom lip, causing me to let out a moan as she pushes me back on the couch and lies her body down on top of me. Her tongue darts out and brushes my bottom lip, asking for entrance, which I obviously grant and the second that our tongues meet in a swirl of desire, our moans become louder, only to be lost within the caverns of each other's warm, inviting mouths.

Her hands are roaming up and down my sides as I grasp onto her back for some sort of leverage. With her leg brushing up against my center I have become a little incoherent. And as much as I want to finish this, I have that nagging in the back of my head that says talk first.

After a few minutes, we pull away taking in some much needed oxygen, while we look deep into each other's eyes. I lean up a bit and give her a quick peck on the lips as I get my bearings straight before laying back down, and finding her eyes again.

"I want you, Spencer." Ashley says almost breathless. "I'm tired of waiting."

"I know, Ash. Me too." I say bringing one of my hands to her face tracing her jaw line. "But, we should talk first."

She nods and goes to move off me but I pull her back down molding her body with mine once again.

"I said we needed to talk first, Ash." I say smirking. "But I never said that I wanted you to move."

She raises her eyebrow and her smirk matches mine as her eyes are becoming darker in a battle of desire with my own. She pins my hands above my head and kisses me softly on the lips.

"Then we better start talking, Carlin. Because I don't know how much longer I can wait."


	32. Chapter 25: Oh Shit!

Okay Everyone Here's another Chapter and this is probably one of the most important chapters in the story because it starts to connect things a little. This one is longer than the other one and it will change POV's throughout. You will see some of Collin, Spencer, Ashley, and Aidan but each POV is important for different reasons because it kind of puts things in motion for the end of the story. And the next 2 chapters will start to connect some dots for you. :)

**Let me know what you think. Enjoy! **

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**Chapter 25: Oh Shit!**

**Collin's POV**

Jesus Christ! My arm is fucking killing me! That fucking bastard dislocated my shoulder with all his fucking arm pulling and macho man impersonations. I should have known better than to go off on Spencer. The second that I saw Big Joe in the apartment I knew what was going to happen if I opened my mouth, but I just couldn't resist. Spencer and Taylor fucking pissed me off and they're just lucky that Joe is here because if he wasn't I'd be smacking those two around like the fucking morons that they are.

And they say that I'm the one who keeps screwing things up! Fuck them! I've been trying to help them and maybe help myself in the process. I mean Aiden didn't really give me a choice. Then again, he doesn't give anyone a fucking choice. He's another rat bastard who is going to pay because I swear that one of these fucking days they're all going to burn in hell and I'll be the one fucking laughing at their funerals. Watching their souls fall deep into the depths of that never ending firestorm. And it's going to be great.

Who cares if I'm playing both sides? It's called an insurance policy! Don't you know that if you're going to do something you have to have a backup plan, and who better to have as a backup than the two people who hate each other more than life itself! It's perfect. I'm a fucking genius and you just don't want to admit it. The way I see it, one of them is going to lose and if I play my cards right, regardless of what happens, I will be on the winning end. It's really the best situation to be in and I couldn't have Ashley getting in on the action. I know she's working both sides and who honestly cares if I just happened to let it be known to Aiden. He's a fucking wimp anyway. And Spencer needs to get away from that girl because she is too good for likes of Ashley. I mean seriously? Spencer has no idea what the fuck she is doing. But, that's ok because soon she'll see things my way and everything will be perfect.

Once the elevator doors open, I'm shoved out into the lobby by Big Joe, who then comes up and decides that it would be fun to put pressure on my dislocated shoulder, causing me to flinch from the pain that sears through my bones. Fucking asshole! I'm gonna get him too.

We walk out the front door and once we're on the sidewalk I stop in my tracks. In front of me is a black Navigator with tinted windows and I know who's on the inside. I cannot believe that these fuckers called the crew over a fucking suspension! This is bullshit! Joe grabs my shoulder firmly and I shoot him a death glare that simply gets a smirk from him in return.

"Get in the fucking car, C." Joe says.

"Thought we were going for a walk?" I state simply.

"We did…we walked out the front door." He says pushing me to the car. "Now, we're going for a ride."

Joe opens the passenger side door for Taylor to get in and then opens the back door for me.

"Why isn't Spencer coming along then?" I say turning to Taylor and trying to buy a little time. "She is part of the crew and all."

"Spencer has some other stuff to take care of." Taylor says glaring at me. "Now get the fuck in."

* * *

**Spencer's POV**

We haven't moved much. Ashley is still on top of me with my arms now securely around her waist. We are staring into each other's eyes, waiting for someone to talk but not wanting to interrupt this moment that we are sharing. I know what Taylor and Big Joe are doing with Collin and as much as I would love to see it all play out, I have got to be here. Right now, Ashley needs to be my main concern because if we don't talk now and get everything out in the open, then we will never be able to get anywhere. And that is something that I cannot allow to happen.

I don't know what it is about this girl, but since day one I have been pulled towards her and consumed with her safety, passion, and my innate need to protect her. The question is, what the hell am I really protecting her from? What am I so afraid of? I may not understand why everything seems to be happening so fast with us, but I do know that even if it took an eternity I would still want her then as much as I need her now.

She leans down and kisses me softly before pulling back slowly with a small smile on her face, as I release my grip around her waist.

"I could stay like that forever." She says sitting up on the other end of the couch. "But I don't think that we'd get much talking done if we do."

I nod my head in agreement and sit up against the arm on my side of the couch, bringing my knees up to my chest and continuing to look deep into her eyes. Talking is the best thing for us to do right now because there needs to be full disclosure. At least on my part. I mean I can't have her getting hurt in this process. I know that there are things that I haven't said and I know that there are things that she hasn't said as well. I just hope that she is willing to open up to me. I hope that she knows that she can tell me anything and it won't change the way that I feel about her. I don't think that anything will.

I know that things have been getting to her lately and I'm beginning to wonder if maybe something else is bothering her as well. She has been all over the place emotionally and I don't think that she'd cry over Kyla or Aiden or even Collin. Besides, I can tell by the look in her eyes that there is something more to it. Something more to her side of things and I want her to feel comfortable enough to tell me. I want her to want to tell me.

After a few minutes she decides to break the silence. Maybe I should've talked first.

"What's the deal with that Joe guy?" She asks a little nervously. "What's really going on with that?"

I take a deep breath before I begin. "Joe's a friend. He doesn't like when people try to hurt the people that he cares about."

"I got that." She says chuckling softly. "But what's it all about?"

"Like I said before, when I was in prison Taylor took care of me from day one. She always had my back." I pause trying to get my bearings straight. "Sometimes it's kill or be killed behind those walls and after so long you have to choose a crew to run with. I chose Taylor's for obvious reasons." I say evenly while shrugging my shoulder a little.

"So you're in a gang?"

"I guess you could say that."

She nods and casts her eyes down to her hands, visibly letting things sink in. Maybe I shouldn't have started out with the whole gang thing. Maybe I shouldn't have just started off simple, but lately I've just been blunt and sometimes it's not a good thing.

She lifts her gaze back up to mine. "And Collin's a part of it too?"

I just nod my head, giving her a silent confirmation.

"So, what are they going to do him?"

"Probably just rough him up a bit."

* * *

**Collin's POV**

How the hell did I let it get this bad? Seriously what the fuck was I thinking? One tiny mistake and everything gets blown out proportion. This is fucking insane! It's only a matter of time before they figure out that I'm working both sides and then I'm fucked. Now I have to be extra careful and not even hint to the fact that I may be working with Aiden and playing both sides. I mean I don't want to end up six feet under. What good would that do? All my hard work would have been for nothing and I will not let that happen.

We have been driving for a half hour now, and I know that they are taking me deep into the woods. I also know that no good is going to come out of this. I don't think that they'll kill me or anything over a suspension. But when you piss off one person in this crew, you have a tendency to piss off everyone.

I am sitting in the back seat of the Navigator sandwiched between Big Joe and Antonio, who is another mean fucker when he wants to be. Let's just say that these two don't have the nickname 'the enforcers' because of their strict ability to adhere to rules. Taylor is sitting in the front seat with Jacqui, who basically runs the crew and is currently dating Taylor. Jacqui is technically the second in command, but at this point who really cares?

We have been sitting in silence for the entire drive as we go deeper and deeper into the woods. I knew that coming to Northern Maine was a fucking mistake. Too many trees and not enough civilization. That equation does not hold up well against one's survival or ability to be heard in a crisis. And that is why we don't make stupid mistakes. I was so meticulous in everything that I did and then Sheriff Whitely had to go and ruin everything.

The SUV jerks to a stop and I'm flung forward, smashing my shoulder into the seat in front of me. What the fuck? The doors open and everyone gets out of the car leaving me sitting there. I'm not fucking getting out here. They can just go fuck themselves.

"OW! What the hell?" I say as Joe grabs my right arm and drags me out of the car.

"Time to get out, asshole." He says as he pulls me out of the car and basically throws me to the ground.

"What the fuck was that for?" I say through gritted teeth as I stand up and take in my surroundings.

They stay silent and just look at me like they're out hunting or something.

"What? You guys gonna kill me now? Is that it?"

Taylor leans against the hood of the car and crosses her arms over her chest.

"We're not going to kill you Collin. We're just going to teach you a lesson in loyalty."

What the fuck is that supposed to mean? A lesson in loyalty? Whatever! Fuck them! I have been nothing but loyal to these assholes for years. I make one mistake and suddenly everyone has it out for me? Something just isn't adding up here. Fucking assholes! I take a step back and my movement is stopped as I bump into Antonio. I turn my head and look at him as he grabs my arms. Fucking great!

"I have been loyal!" I yell. "For almost fourteen fucking years!"

Jacqui steps up into my personal space.

"And lately you've been slacking." She says evenly before she punches me in the gut, knocking the wind out of me and making me bend over slightly.

Antonio still has a firm grip on my arms as Jacqui hits me again once I gain a little composure back. This is going to be a long night. This is all because of Ashley and the way she just barged into my life, ruining everything. I never would've slipped up if it wasn't for her. I hope she's fucking happy! Fucking bitch!

* * *

**Ashley's POV**

I knew Spencer was in a gang but she never acknowledged it. For some reason I needed her to acknowledge that small fact. Not that it changes anything. But I still needed to hear her say it out loud. I think it's time that I told her everything. I know that she can see right through me and into my soul. Sometimes I think that she's effectively reading my mind. I don't want anyone to get hurt, but it's inevitable. I need to tell her the rest of Kyla's plan. I need to be honest with her. I owe her that much. I don't care what my mother says. I need this girl and honestly I'm tired of trying to figure out why.

I'm tired of the lies and the secrets. I just have to let it out. If Aiden and Kyla know why I'm here then I'm pretty much dead anyway. At least this way I'll go out with no regrets. I'll go out with nothing holding me back. I get up from the couch and walk over to the window, peering out at the town below. What is it with this window anyway? Why the hell do we always feel the need to stand in front of it? Seriously, there has to be something in the adhesive that makes it so alluring.

I'm brought out of my thoughts by her voice traveling over to my ears from her spot on the couch.

"So…umm. What didn't you say earlier?" She asks softly.

I don't turn to face her as I begin because part of me doesn't want to see the look on her face once I say this.

"Kyla wants me to break your heart." I say evenly. "She wants me to make you fall in love with me and then break-up with you and take your heart with me in the process."

I hear her shift on the couch behind me as I continue to stare out the window.

"Is that what you want to do?" She asks quietly.

"No." I state firmly. "No I don't. Because all it would do is wind up hurting both of us and I don't want to see you hurt anymore." I say turning to face her again.

She sits there staring at her hands and looks back up at me with her head tilting slightly to the side.

"It's ok Ash. I mean I get it." She says a little nervously. "Loyalty is everything and if it means that you won't get hurt then…"

"Then what, Spence? I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to walk away from you." I say cutting her off.

"But if it means…"

"No, Spencer. There has to be another way." I say firmly.

She takes a visibly deep breath and stands up from the couch.

"Ashley you have no idea how serious this is. No idea what you're getting yourself into and I don't…" She pauses as she walks a little closer to me. "…I don't want you to get hurt on account of me."

As she finishes, she steps into my personal space. I close my eyes and let out loud sigh. It's now or never.

"I lied to you before, Spencer."

* * *

**Aiden's POV**

I slam the front door as I walk into the house. God Dammit! Fucking IDIOT! What the hell was he thinking? Now, they're going to find out about the suspension and I swear that if he fucking tells them about our little arrangement I am going to fucking kill him myself! I mean seriously! His part of the deal was so fucking easy and he still manages to fuck it up! What the hell does it take to get some decent fucking help these days! Honestly!

I pace around the living room and Kyla walks in taking a seat on the couch. She's watching my every move carefully. It's taken this long to perfect this agreement of ours with Collin and then he decides to get all fucking cocky. He should've known better.

"It's going to work out, Aid." Kyla says. "Stop worrying so much."

"Stop worrying, Kyla? The fucking dickhead got suspended from work."

"I know." She states simply. "Everyone's talking about it."

"And you don't think that this throws a wrench into our plans?" I ask disbelievingly.

"Well, he didn't keep them apart, so we came up with a plan to put them together. I don't think that he would say anything about him giving us information on Spencer because that would just fuck him over. So, as long as we stay cool about everything it will all work out."

"Always the optimist…huh?"

"It worked ten years ago. No reason it can't work now." She replies smirking.

"That is why I love you." I say pulling her up from the couch and brining her into a deep kiss.

I haven't told Kyla about the papers and about how me and Collin leaked the story. I mean as much as I love her, I know that Spencer is still her sister and I just can't trust her completely, knowing that somewhere in the back of her head she still does care for her. I mean blood is always thicker than water in the end. And I'm not that stupid that I don't see it.

But, I will tell you one thing. Collin better not fuck this up. If he knows what's good for him he'll keep his fucking mouth shut and take whatever the fuck they dish out because I know that they will not be happy about this whole suspension business. And I swear I will not allow him to ruin my life that I have worked so hard to get over the last ten years. All I'm saying is that he better watch his back or there will be hell to pay.

* * *

**Collin's POV**

My body is beginning to become numb to punches and kicks. Another punch to the chest. Another kick in the side. The three not holding me back are having a field day with this group beating thing. And I am in some fucking pain. I'm pretty sure that I have some internal bleeding going on here. Antonio is still grasping my arms as they all take swings at me. This is going to fucking hurt in the morning. I swear to god that if they think I'm going to crack they have another thing coming. I mean they must suspect that something's not right with the situation. They must sense that there's more to this than just the suspension. Why else would they bring me out here over a simple suspension from work? I mean I get that it's a pretty big deal considering that's how I was able to keep track of everyone's records and feed the appropriate information to the appropriate people. But damn! And my shoulder is in some horrible pain from the death grip that Antonio has on me. Fuck! They broke some skin and now I'm bleeding all over again. Fuckers!

After my initial beating, because yes I am expecting more, Jacqui holds her hand up and silently motions for them to stop.

"Why'd you do it Collin?" Jacqui asks and I just look up at her. "Why'd you turn against your own?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about?" I say trying to even out my breathing and failing horribly.

"I'm talking about the newspapers you fucktard! I'm talking about leaking the story to the national press and putting one of our girls in the fucking spotlight!"

Antonio drags me to my feet and I flinch in pain. Seriously! I am not a fucking ragdoll you fucking brute!

"I thought it would help. National exposure puts a spotlight on the situation and I thought it would help our girl." I say feigning innocence and hoping it will work.

"Help? That's the most absurd thing I have heard all fucking day." Taylor says getting up in my face. "You did it on purpose you fucking dunce! Now start talking!"

She goes to hit me again and Jacqui grabs her shoulder trying to calm her down. I know that Taylor is pissed that I crossed her and Spencer but for the love of God woman! Get the fuck over yourself! Taylor just nods her head and steps back after looking into Jacqui's eyes and reading them like a book. I swear I want to get into their heads one day and see what the fuck they talk about without actually saying anything.

"Collin…" Jacqui starts. "You and I both know that you didn't think it would help. So what's the real reason?"

Fuck. I'm busted. Dammit Jacqui! Can't you just learn to mind your own fucking business. Antonio's grip tightens on my arms and I can't help the grunt that comes out of my mouth because of the pain. I look into Jacqui's eyes and I take a deep breath. Seriously! What do I have to lose at this point? My pride was thrown out the window over an hour ago.

"I wanted to scare Ashley off." I say honestly.

"Why?" Jacqui asks. Her tone is still calm.

"Because she's going to ruin everything! She's no good and what do any of us really know about her anyway?" I say through gritted teeth. The pain is really getting to me now.

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**Ashley's POV**

I open my eyes slowly to see her brow furrowing slightly.

"Lied about what?" She asks confused.

"I've been here before." I say evenly and the confusion is still written all over her face. "I mean when I was younger my mother used to take us vacationing here…well…not here but the next county over. Her friend lived here and something always made me want to live here. Something pulled me here…you know?"

"I'm not so sure I follow."

"The last time I was here, before I moved that is, I was nine years old. I never could remember much but I did remember the smell of the trees in the fall and the sunsets in the summer and my best friend showing me what rural life was all about."

"What made your mother stop bringing you?"

"She had a fight with her friend and they stopped talking for a while. Her daughter was my best friend and I never got to see her again because of our parent's ability to hold a grudge over something stupid." I pause and turn back around facing the window. "I was so mad at her for the longest time and that's when I started my whole rebellious stage. It didn't take long for the drugs and alcohol and stealing to kick in."

"So, have you seen her since you moved here?" She asks quietly.

I think that there's a hint of jealousy there. It's kind of cute. Then again, anything she seems to do is cute. I turn back towards her and gaze into her eyes.

"No." I say softly.

"Why not?" She asks nervously. "I mean if you two were so close why not look her up?"

"Because she doesn't live here anymore." I state simply taking her hand in mine. "By the time our parents finally decided to make amends it was too late. She was already gone. My mother said that she got sick and died in her sleep."

I lead her back over to the couch and we sit facing each other.

"I never bought it though. I mean she was always healthy. Her mom was a friggen' health nut and always made sure that her kids always ate correctly and got in their daily exercise. So my friend getting sick just didn't make any sense. But, I wasn't going to argue. I mean bad things can happen every day to the best people. It's kind of the tragic side of life I guess."

She looks into my eyes and I continue.

"After that is when I started getting really bad and wound up in jail for beating that girl. I'm not proud of it, but I was so angry that I didn't know what else to do. Once I got off probation my mother suggested that she put up a building here and I move here to run it. She said it might help me to be able to get past it and be close to her again…you know?"

She tightens her grip on my hand and nods her understanding, never breaking eye contact with me.

"I'm so sorry, Ash. What was her name?"

"Maryanne." I say sadly. "Maryanne Wyatt."

Spencer's face loses all of its color and her eyes go wide before she jerks her hand away from me before standing up and moving away from me.

"Oh God!" I hear her say so quietly that I had to strain my ears just to hear her.

I stand up and move towards her and she just keeps moving back. I am so confused right now.

"Spencer what's wrong?"


	33. Chapter 26 Part 1: Secret Revelations

**Here's part one of the next chapter with a little more insight to the night in question! Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 26.1: Secret Revelations **

**Spencer's POV**

Oh God! This is not happening. It can't be happening. It has to be a dream. Wait…that's it! It's all a dream and I am going to wake up any second now. Me and Ashley just fell asleep on the couch and now I'm just simply dreaming. For the love of god let this be a dream. Come on, Spencer. Wake up!...Wake the fuck up NOW!

"Spence?" She says a little shakily.

It's official! I am going straight to hell. Yup I just bought myself a one way ticket to the deepest darkest depths of hell. Do not pass go. Do not collect two hundred dollars. Just head straight for the little minions that are going to be spending eternity torturing you for all of your sins. It doesn't matter if I didn't do it. I'm still going to hell. Why? Because I don't deserve to go anywhere else. That's why.

This is fucking crazy! When Ashley said her name I'm pretty sure that my heart stopped. My hands and my body felt like it was on fire from the inside out. I jerked my hand away from Ashley so fast that I can't really blame her for being so confused. But that name has haunted me for ten years. Maryanne Wyatt has invaded my dreams and her image has been etched into my retina's, never to be erased from my memory. A permanent fixture in my mind that will never be forgotten.

And wouldn't you know it. She was Ashley's best friend. Seriously? How am I going to tell her that her best friend was fucking murdered and that I'm the one that went to jail for it? I mean what kind of sick joke is this? Who the fuck would play this twisted fucking game and make me fall for the girl who is best friends with the one person who has haunted me for a fucking decade? This has to be a mistake…right? I mean it is not possible for the universe to be this fucking cruel!

"Spence?" She says softly.

Her voice is so fragile. So broken. And I don't know how to fix it. I don't know what the hell is going through her mind right now. The only thing I do know is that this is anything but a dream. I mean I can't even look her in the eye. Who the hell knows what she is thinking. I pull away from her suddenly and I honestly expect her to just figure it out? What the fuck is wrong with me? Oh yeah…I'm terrified right now. Terrified because those fucking assholes took the one thing away from Ashley that was constant in her fucking life and now I have to be the one to tell her that. Where the hell is Dr. Phil when you need him?

I move my gaze to meet Ashley's as she bends down in front of me and places her hands on my knees, causing me to flinch a little at the touch. I can see the confusion written all over her face. I am becoming mesmerized by her questioning brown orbs and I realize that looking at her right now is not good option. What the hell have we done?

I stand up quickly and move to the other side of the room. I know that I am being a bitch right now but I'm a little lost on what to do. I mean I can't look at her and I can't let her touch me. I don't deserve her. I don't deserve her sympathy. I don't deserve to feel her touch or her kisses or even the butterflies that swarm around in my stomach every time she is near me. I don't deserve to feel my heart swell with one look from her beautiful brown eyes or the sound of her voice. I don't deserve her love. I don't deserve any of it.

What I do deserve is a swift kick in the ass and maybe a permanent home six feet under. I mean what the hell could I possibly say to make this ok? Hey Ash, your friend Maryanne didn't really die of some illness…How do I know? Well, I know because she was gutted like a fish with her insides on the outside and hung in the shower of my parent's cabin! Oh and by the way, I was sent to jail for it! Yeah that would go over REAL well. This is so fucked up!

"Baby, what going on?" She tries again.

Ahh…the voice of an angel. I turn around to look at her once again and I can see tears forming in her eyes. What the hell am I going to do? I don't want her to cry. I don't want to see the pain that is so evident right now in her eyes. _Well, how the hell would you feel if your girlfriend suddenly didn't want you anywhere near her? _Oh shut up! I don't even know what she's thinking.

Wait…is that concern lacing her features? Oh Ash. Seriously. Don't be concerned for me. You wouldn't want to be anywhere near me if you knew the truth. You'd just leave like everyone else and I'm not so sure I could handle it. _Oh God! It hurts to think that she may not want me after this._ But I have to be strong right now. I need to tell her because she deserves the truth. I am so fucking screwed right now.

I lock my gaze onto hers and I take a deep breath.

"Ash." I start softly. "There's something that you need to know."

Her brows furrow in confusion and if I wasn't so terrified right now I might actually find it cute. So how exactly do I tell her. God dammit! Why does this shit seem so much easier in the movies? And if I put two and two together so quick, who else has? Did she let any of this information slip out in a conversation with Aiden or Kyla? FUCK! I completely forgot about them. What if they do know? What if they found out? Shit, if they found out then that would certainly explain a lot. Well, you know in a basic sense anyway. But if they know then this situation that Ashley is currently in is so far from good that it would be nearly impossible to see any sort of bright side. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! I am totally up shit's creek without a paddle right now!

Ashley is still looking at me. She's trying to read me and I'm not letting her. I'm not letting her because I know the windstorm that is about to fall on us and I am not liking the predicted outcome.

"What is it?" She asks.

I sigh defeated and close my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose with my right hand.

"You might want to sit for this."

She sits down on the couch and watches me carefully. Tracing my every move and watching me with such intensity that it only scares me more.

"What happened a minute ago? Does it have to do with Maryanne? Did you know her?" she asks cautiously.

"Something like that." I say taking a seat next to her, but making sure to keep my distance. "Look Ash, I'm going to tell you everything. But you have to let me finish before you say anything. Ok?"

"Ok." She says shakily as I lock my gaze with hers.

"First, I'm sorry that I pulled away but you'll understand why I did in a minute." She nods her head telling me to continue. "I didn't know Maryanne personally. I knew of her. But I never actually hung out with her. I mean I'd see her at parties or whatever and we talked a few times in passing but that was about it. We uhh…we were from different crowds you know?" Again she nods telling me that she's still with me.

I take in another deep breath. Jesus Christ she's going to fucking hate me!

"Do you remember when I told you about that camping trip we all took?"

I receive another nod and I still don't think that she gets where I am going with this just yet. Why is this so fucking hard? _Maybe because you're terrified that she's just going to walk right out that door and out of your life forever._ That could be it. _Ok…deep breath._

"Well, when we were on the trip, she was staying in the cabin next to us with her friends. We umm…we had a party and we all got really wasted." I pause as her brow furrows in confusion once again.

"Why would she party if she was sick?" She asks looking at the ground.

"That's just it. She wasn't sick, Ashley." I say as evenly as I can with my heart trying to beat out my chest.

"What are you talking about? You said yourself that you two weren't really friends. How would you know?" She says as her voice raises with every word.

Our eyes are still locked am I pleading with her to see the truth that lies within mine. After a few seconds I can see the realization slowly hitting her. I can see the tears in her eyes threatening to fall over and all I can think about is trying to find a way to comfort her somehow. But I can't. Not right now. She needs to hear the rest of this.

"Because she's…" I say softly as I cast my eyes to the ground. "…I know because she's the one that died that weekend. She's the one that I went to jail for. She's the girl I dream about when I have my nightmares."

She stands up and starts to back away from me, shaking her head and looking down to the ground.

"No!" She yells. "You're lying."

"I'm not lying Ashley." I say moving towards her. "I have no reason to lie to you. Not now. Not ever. And I know that it's a lot to take in, but you needed to know." I sigh defeated and stop my forward motion towards her. "You deserved to know."

She backs herself against the wall and slides down it, bringing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them as the tears start to fall. I stay rooted in my spot that's a good six feet away from her. I am way too scared to even begin to approach her right now. Seeing her in this much pain is killing me. I never meant for this to happen. I mean, seriously! How much bad luck can one fucking person have?

"I am so sorry, Ash." I try softly.

"Don't!" She says angrily with tears streaming down her face. "Just don't."

Ok…maybe I'll just keep my mouth shut. I won't take my eyes off of her though. I won't run away and I won't push her. I just wish that I knew what was going through her mind right now. Anything would be better that this painful, earth shattering silence that we are currently encompassed in.

I want her to say something. I want her to hit me. I want her to yell at me. I want her to do something. Anything. If for no other reason than to make herself feel a little better. I want her to be angry because she deserves to be. She was lied to by her mother and Maryanne's mother. Her friend was murdered and she was kept in the dark. So right now anything would be better than the silence because I don't think that she could survive closing herself off. I don't think that I could survive it, knowing that I am the reason she is like this. And maybe I'm being selfish but I don't really give a shit! I love this woman and I don't want to her to hurt. Not anymore.

After what feels like an eternity, she decides to break the silence.

"That's why she told me to stay away from you." Her voice is so quiet that I barely hear it.

"Wh-Who?" I ask shakily.

"My mother." She says looking up into my eyes.

I am literally fighting the urge to go over there and just hold her. But again, it's not the time.

"I told her about us…you know? About what you mean to me and how I feel about you. She was so happy that I found someone to love who would love me back." She wipes a tear from her eye.

"Ashley I…" I say quietly but it goes ignored as she cuts me off.

"And then she asked me your name and when I told her she went silent. Kind of like you did when I said Maryanne's name. So I asked her what was wrong and she just told me to stay away from you and hung up the phone." She stands back up, never breaking eye contact. "I guess now I know why."

I remove my eyes from hers and look down to the ground. She sounds so broken and I caused that. I put that uncertainty in voice.

"So, what now? I mean what are you going to do?"

I can feel her walking towards me and I see her feet enter my line of sight as I continue to look down at the ground and fidget with my hands.

"I don't know. Why don't we start with you telling me the rest of the story and we'll go from there."

I look back up to her and nod my head giving her another silent confirmation. I can tell her the whole story. I owe that to her. But please. Please don't let her walk away from me when I'm done.


	34. Chapter 26 Part 2: What Happened?

**So who wants to know what happened the night that Maryanne died? Anyone? Maybe? Well...if you do here you go. I was gonna leave you all hanging but I figrued I would be nice. :) This is most likely the final Chapter for the night. Enjoy and let me know what you think!**

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**Chapter 26.2: What Happened? **

**Ashley's POV**

What the hell am I still doing here? Spencer still hasn't answered me. She seems lost in thought. But do I really want to know? Do I really want to know what happened to Maryanne? I mean I had a feeling that something was off in this whole picture and I never really believed that Maryanne suddenly got sick and died. But hearing it out loud, from someone else's mouth, is completely different than thinking it in my head and going through the different scenarios of what really could have happened.

But do I really want to hear this? I mean it has the potential to ruin everything. And while I don't believe that Spencer is actually capable of murder, I do believe that maybe none of them are actually capable of telling the whole truth. I just don't know anymore and it's killing me because I am seriously in love with this girl. It's killing me because I have fifty different stories brewing around in my head from different people and the only thing that they all have in common is that a girl wound up dead that night. Maryanne wound up dead that night and everything is just so confusing.

What's worse is that my first instinct was to run. When Spencer told me that Maryanne was the girl who she was accused of killing, I just wanted to get out of here. Seriously the girl I love just told me that she was in prison because of what happened to my best friend, and all I wanted was some fresh air. Away from her. Away from everything. I felt like my throat was closing and that the walls were closing in on me. I felt trapped. Confined by something that I know now that I cannot control anymore because this whole thing is so complicated.

But, how did I not see it earlier? How could I not put two and two together? And Aiden has to know. What else could he have meant by the whole everyone has secrets thing that he pulled out in front of his house. Or maybe he just knows that I was in jail. I mean who the hell knows what Collin found out and told him. And if Aiden knows something then does everyone else know too? Are they all just playing this game and hiding behind some false wall so that no one will ever have to see the truth? I'm seriously beginning to think that maybe everyone has a hidden agenda. Now, I just need to figure out what that agenda is and I need to start with Spencer. As much as it may hurt to know what really happened that night, I need her to tell me. If for no other reason than to maintain my own sanity.

I hear a soft sigh and I'm pulled out of my daze. I look down to Spencer who has her head in her hands. I move a little closer and she looks up at me. She looks so small. So defeated. And I continue to stand here. Towering over her and maintaining my presumably dominant position. I have a million different emotions coursing through my veins and I do not want her to see all of them. I haven't left yet because I don't want her to see the sadness in me. I don't want her to know that I'm currently an emotional mess with my heart beating faster and faster with each passing second.

No…All I want her to see is the pain and anger. All I want her to see right now is the need in me to know what happened because we can't go on unless everything is out on the table. I need her to see that I may be angry and hurt, but I'm still right here. I'm still standing here and giving her the chance to tell me the whole truth without any inhibitions. The question is: will she actually do it?

I guess now is as good a time as any to see if she's going to speak any time soon.

"Spencer." I say softly getting her attention.

I wait until she looks into my eyes before I begin.

"Spencer, I need you to tell me what happened?" I say sitting down on the coffee table in front of her.

She visibly takes a deep breath and shakes her head letting me know that she understands. I think that it's important for her to get this out right, without potentially scarring me for life. She lets out a long, hard breath preparing herself to talk about what happened.

"I don't know how everything went so wrong." She starts out slowly. "It started out as a fun weekend…you know?"

She pauses and I nod my head for her to continue as I try to keep eye contact.

"We were all just hanging out and having a good time. There's a small lake up there with some barbeque pits and we all just had one big party. We were laughing and eating and swimming and it seemed like we were all getting back on track. Maryanne and her friends were there too."

"So what changed?" I asked as calmly as I could.

"Apparently the air." She says looking away. "I don't really know what changed, Ashley. All I know is that one minute we were having fun and then the next minute Aiden and Kyla were all tense and their eyes were so black. It was scary. But I didn't think that anyone was going to get hurt. I mean usually when they got that way it was because they were fighting with each other."

"Usually?" I ask confused. "What…did they kill more than one person?"

"Huh?" She asks snapping her eyes back to mine. "No…no. They didn't. I just meant that they fought a lot and Aiden was…well…he was abusive. He liked to hit people especially when you pissed him off, but he never went that far before. At least not until that night."

"Did he hit you?"

"Yeah." She says looking away again. "Guess that's why I didn't care so much when I found out that he was sleeping with my sister. It may be wrong but I was a little relieved because now I had something to hold over his head. I guess it made me feel safer because he let me break up with him and I knew that he hadn't hit my sister so I would be able to use it against him if he ever tried anything."

I seriously want to kill that boy! He was hitting her and no one ever did anything to stop it? Seriously what the fuck were these people doing or thinking for that matter? This whole thing is fucking ridiculous.

"No one knew." She says as if reading my mind. "He never hit me where anyone would see."

"Doesn't make it right, Spencer." She shrugs and puts her head down.

"Doesn't matter anymore." She says softly. "Besides I thought that you wanted to know what happened."

"I do."

"Then let me tell you before I lose my nerve and we'll get into all that other stuff later."

"Ok…but you're not off the hook."

I see a small smile form at the corner of her lips as she nods her head up and down.

"Anyway, after dinner we all went back to our own cabins and called it a night. It was about ten o'clock at night and everyone was getting pretty drunk. Anyway, we played a game of trivial pursuit and then we all went to bed. After I got ready I sat down in the chair and started writing in my diary." She pauses as her voice trails off. "About a half hour later is when we heard Madison screaming."

I got up from the coffee table and stood over by the fireplace. Her eyes watched me as I moved around the room silently. She hasn't even gotten to the bad parts and I'm already freaking out. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

"Everything was so surreal. I told you that we found her hanging in the shower of the downstairs bathroom and that everything was chaotic. I mean Aiden flew off his rocker. All of his sanity went right out the window and it took everything that I had to calm him the fuck down." She pauses again. "Actually Glen and Clay helped with that. I mean I had Madison in a trance in the chair and Aiden flipping out when he was the one with blood all over his sorry ass."

"So, Aiden did it." I ask tentatively.

"Let me finish."

"Ok."

"Everything was so crazy…you know? And she was so beat up. There was so much blood and I didn't want to leave her hanging there as if she was nothing. But Aiden wouldn't have it. And Kyla was no better than he was. Taking his side from the second this whole thing went down. But, it was weird. After we found her Aiden came in from outside and he was soaking wet. Kind of like he was just under a hose or something. But his shirt was still bloody."

"So what happened next?"

"Things went from bad to worse. I mean we all knew that Aiden was responsible for what happened to her, but all anyone could worry about was their own lives. It was sickening. I mean I'm trying to call the police and everyone else is trying to stop me because they don't want to go to prison. Meanwhile there's this girl who we all hung out with five hours earlier, who's dead and hanging in the shower."

For the love of God she's being blunt as hell. Maybe she's just trying to get it all out quickly without thinking about it. Maybe she forgot that the murdered girl used to be my best friend. Who the hell knows? But I don't know how much more I can take.

"We argued and fought for hours. Everyone was ganging up on Aiden and after a while he just stormed out of the cabin. That's when I took her down and laid her on the bathroom floor, covering her with some towels."

She stands up and walks over to the kitchen counter. I watch her every move but I know that she just trying to stay composed somehow. Me on the other hand, not so much. I have tears sliding down my cheeks and I'm trying to hide them. Fat chance of that happening considering that Spencer just grabbed some tissues. Damn it! Why can't I just hold things in until I'm alone. My anger has been boiling and I just want to hit something!

Spencer brings the tissue over to me and hands it to me with a soft smile.

"I don't mean to be so blunt. I just don't know how else to get this out."

I wipe the tear from my eyes before looking back into hers.

"It's ok. Just finish."

"I knew things about Aiden that could get him sent to jail for years but I kept my mouth shut because he was my friend. But, what you need to understand is that it wasn't only Aiden's fault that Maryanne died. Aiden didn't kill her alone."

That got my attention and I finally moved from my spot near the fireplace so that I was within inches of Spencer.

"Who helped him?" I ask not sure that I really want to know the answer.

Spencer takes a deep breath and looks me in the eye.

"The Mayor." She says softly.

"What? But why?" I yell throwing my hands in the air and letting my anger come out.

"Because he wanted to get back at her parents for ratting on him."

My eyes went wide and my hands balled into fists. I think steam is effectively pouring out of my ears. I am going to kill every fucking person in this fucking town. GAH! I am so fucking mad right now! I turn to walk to the door and as I reach for the handle Spencer calls out.

"Where you going?" She asks a little nervously.

"For a walk." I say through gritted teeth before opening the door and slamming it behind me.

_They are so going to pay for this._


	35. Chapter 27 Part 1: Tick Tock

**Here's The next Chapter for you all :) Hope you like it!**

**ROCKMYHEART: Aiden is definitely a little off in this story. He played a big part in what happened but he's definitely not the only one involved. He acts all calm and cool and sooner or later the shit is gonna hit the fan. I still have a twist or two to throw at you all so we'll see what happens :) and don't worry...Collin will get his. Just not all in one sitting :)**

**Irishgrl33: Is that good or bad that you can't stop reading...Just kidding :) I'm glad you're liking it and I hope you like what's to come. **

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**Chapter 27.1: Tick Tock**

**Spencer's POV**

4 hours, 23 minutes, and 47 seconds. That's how long it's been since Ashley walked out the door angry. That's how long it's been since I opened my big mouth and turned her world upside down. That's how long it's been since I've moved from this couch. That's how long I've been staring at the clock, wishing for time to stop and rewind so that I could tell her without being so blunt.

What the fuck was I thinking? I know it's hard for me to talk about it, but this was her best friend and I just referred to her as just any girl on the street. Perfect Spencer! Way to make things even more fucked up. God I am such an idiot sometimes. I could have at least showed a little more compassion. Maybe then she wouldn't have run out. Maybe then I wouldn't have my stomach in knots and my heart aching at the fact that I have no idea where Ashley is.

She won't answer her cell phone. I know because I've tried calling her like twenty times. I even left a few messages. And she still hasn't called me back or answered her phone. I'm worried. I'm scared that she's going to do something stupid and I don't want anything to happen to her. They can't know that she knows. They can't know her connection to all of this because if they do, then they may try to kill her. You know how they say that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned? Well, Ashley has a tiny temper that can get blown way out of proportion and I fear that maybe she isn't exactly a person to be messed with, if you know what I mean.

4 hours, 28 minutes, and 26 seconds. That's how long I've had a million different scenarios running through my mind. That's how long I've been sitting here, while Taylor and Big Joe are out there looking for her. Collin hasn't come back yet and I don't know if I should be worried or calm about the situation. I mean Ashley isn't exactly his favorite person and if he gets his hands on her before Taylor and Joe then God only knows what the hell the both of them will do. Ashley with her unrelenting anger and Collin with his don't fuck with me attitude, don't exactly make for the best combination. So I'm hoping that Taylor and Joe find her first.

I get up and walk over to the window, looking out with my arms crossed across my chest. You're probably wondering why I'm not out there looking for her. Why I'm sitting here while she's out there facing a demon that she never knew she had until now. You're probably wondering why I don't do something about all of this if I'm so worried. I mean wouldn't anyone who loves someone go after them and make sure they're ok? Especially if you know how it could end up if the information got to the wrong person. The truth is, I'm beginning to wonder myself. But, it seemed like a good idea at the time. It seemed like I would worry less if I just sat there and didn't move unless it was to make a call from my cell phone to her. But, the worrying isn't going anywhere and it's just getting worse. I mean Taylor had the best of intentions but I don't know how much more of this silence I can take.

But I'm terrified to leave. I'm terrified to move in case she does come back. I need to be here waiting for her. I need to be here so that I can be the first to tell her the one thing that's going to change everything. I need to be here to tell her that everything will be ok and if she just trusts me, then we can get through this and they will be the ones who pay for all of their sins. Paybacks a bitch and I'm going to see to it that it hits them even harder now. But I can't do that until I know that she's safe. I can't do that until I can look in her eyes and see the understanding that none of us can afford to go all crazy on them right now.

Taylor and Big Joe came back into the apartment about five minutes after Ashley stormed out of here more pissed off than I have ever seen her. When she left I was crying and I have no idea why. I don't cry. Spencer Carlin does not show weakness anymore. And yet, that is how they found me. When Taylor saw me she practically ran over to me asking what was wrong.

"_Spencer what's going on?" Taylor says rubbing a hand on my back. _

"_I think…I…screwed up, T." I said through the stream of tears. I couldn't stop._

"_Where's Ashley? What happened?" She asks._

"_Is she ok, Spence?" Joe asks. "Because I'll hurt anyone who hurts her." He says kneeling in front of me._

"_I don't know where she is." I say finally getting my crying under control. "She just stormed out of here." _

_I look up at both of them and see the confusion written on their faces. _

"_I think we have a bigger problem."_

"_What problem, Princess?" Joe says putting a hand on my knee to stop it from shaking._

"_That girl that Aiden killed. She…" I look into Joe's eyes. "She was Ashley's best friend."_

_Taylor and Joe's eyes go wide with surprise. I'm pretty sure that they never saw that one coming. Hell, I never saw it coming. _

"_Are you sure? Has Ashley known this whole time?" Taylor asks with a hint of worry in her voice._

_I shake my head 'no.'_

"_No she hasn't known. She just found out. She was talking about her friend who used to live in Boardman. She told me she died from being sick and I asked her what the girl's name was. She told me and I went pale and started backing away from her because I knew it was the same girl. I told her why I pulled away from her and she asked me to tell her the whole story. I did and she got angry and left."_

"_Shit!" "Fuck!" Taylor and Joe yell at the same time._

"_I've gotta go find her." I say quietly._

"_No! No Spencer. Stay here. We'll go look for her." Joe says as he grabs my chin and makes me look him in the eyes._

"_This is a big deal, Spence. And if she does anything stupid…" Taylor starts._

"_I know."_

"_Spence listen. I will personally beat the shit out of anyone that lays a hand on her, ok?" _

_Leave it to Joe to make me feel slightly better about this whole situation. _

"_Ok."_

"_Good. Now you stay here and try calling her. Maybe she'll answer and if not we'll find her. I promise you Spencer. I won't let anything happen to her."Joe says as he bores holes into my eyes._

_I just nod my head and the two of them get up and run out of the apartment. Leaving me here to worry about something that I cannot control, but that I don't want to lose. _

That was 4 hours, 43 minutes, and 37 seconds ago. And I still have no idea what is going on. Taylor's been calling every so often to check and see if she came back. Taylor and Joe are as worried as I am. The fact that Maryanne was Ashley's best friend only makes this whole situation worse. But where the hell is she? Why won't she call me back? And why can't they find her? I mean seriously…this town is not that big. It's not exactly easy to get lost around here.

I start to pace back and forth through the living room. I grab my phone off the coffee table and try to call Ashley again. I hit the call button and wait.

_RING!_

One.

_RING!_

Two. Come on Ash.

_RING!_

Three.

_RING!_

Four. No such luck.

_You've reached Ashley. Leave a message and I might call ya back if you're lucky. BEEEPPP!_

"Hey Ash, It's just me again. Ummm…I'm getting a little worried so could you please call me back so that I know you're ok." Click.

I flip the phone closed and throw it on the couch out of frustration. I'm going fucking crazy just sitting here. This is fucking ridiculous. I mean I get that she's mad but she could at least call me back and let me know that she's alive or something. I'd even take a text message if she didn't want to talk.

The butterflies swarming around the pit of my stomach aren't helping either. I'm getting more nervous with each passing second and I can't stop it. I can't stop thinking that something has gone terribly wrong and it's all my fault.

The phone rings and I rush over to it, hoping that it's Ashley. But I have no such luck as I look at the caller ID and see Glen's name flash across it. I let out a sigh and slowly flip open the phone.

"Hi Glen." I say tiredly.

"Spencer! Hey I'm glad I got you." He says hurriedly. _Something's wrong._

"What's going on?" _I really shouldn't be tying up the phone line in case she tries to call me._

"Look Spencer, Aiden's lost his fucking mind." He says quickly.

"Tell me something I don't know."

_Seriously…you called me to tell me something that is common knowledge? I really don't have time for this._

"Look…Glen…" I start but he cuts me off.

"No! Spencer I mean that he's…"

Just then Taylor and Joe walk through the front door. Their eyes wide, their faces pale and their breathing heavy. I'm pretty sure that they just ran up the stairs. What the hell is wrong with the elevator? I look over to Taylor and Joe. Something is definitely wrong. Glen is still running his mouth on the other end of the phone but I'm not paying attention to anything that he's saying.

"What's going on?"

"We need to go, Spencer. Now!"

"_Spencer! Spencer! Are you listening to me?"_

Oh yeah…Glen.

"Huh…Yeah Glen I was listening. Look I gotta go."

"_No…Spencer! Wait!"_

Click. I flip the phone shut, never taking my eyes off of Taylor and Joe.

"Spence we really need to go."

"I'm not going anywhere until someone tells me what the fuck is going on."

Taylor walks over and grabs me by the shoulders.

"Spencer" She starts slowly. "It's Ashley."

And with that my stomach drops. My heart breaks.

5 hours, 10 minutes, and 45 seconds was all it took for my life to be turned upside down…AGAIN!


	36. Chapter 27 Part 2: On A Mountain

**Here's part 2! It's getting intense :)**

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**Chapter 27.2: On the Side of a Mountain**

**Spencer's POV**

Have you ever noticed how slow time goes when you're literally counting the seconds? It's excruciatingly painful. As if with each passing second another opportunity is missed. In my case it's an opportunity to help the only person who has ever really given a damn about me. Well, besides Taylor and Joe, that is.

We have been driving for a good ten minutes. Aiden got a head start on all of us. I think that's what Glen was trying to tell me. I mean it has to be considering that he's about fifteen feet behind us with everyone except for Kyla and Aiden in his car. _I wonder how they all fit? Does it really matter right now! Jesus Spencer, get with it!_

I know…I know. Stupid thoughts should have no place at a time like this. Taylor said that her and Joe saw Aiden and Kyla knock Ashley out and throw her in the back seat of the car. They tried to stop them but they drove off too fast. That's when they came back to get me and the car. Now it's a high speed chase with us in one car and Glen and everyone else in the other, trying to catch up to Aiden and Kyla who have a ten minute head start on all of us. I swear to god I'll fucking kill him if he hurts her.

Ever since we got in the car, Joe has been saying 'When I get my hands on that rat bastard, I'm gonna fucking strangle him!" over and over again. And he keeps looking back at me through the rearview mirror. I'm pretty sure that the blood has drained from my face so I think he's just making sure that I'm still alive or something. I should have known that something was going to happen.

Glen called me again when he realized that we were in front of him. He told us where they were headed and he said that Aiden had called him and said that he was taking care of one of the problems. I guess he just knew and his first thought was to tell me. How fucking nice of him! The only problem is that none of us knows what the hell Aiden and Kyla are doing this for. I mean everyone knows about the different plans, but you would think that they'd want to keep her around. Unless Ashley got so angry when they came up to her that she slipped and told them about our conversation. But then she would have seen them coming. So that doesn't make any sense. And now I'm headed to the one place that I hate more than anything. And I don't mean the cabin.

And where the fuck is Collin! I mean no one has seen or heard from him since Joe and Taylor took him out for a 'walk'. I know they didn't kill him, so where the fuck is he? I swear to God if he crosses me again I will hurt him.

"Spencer." Taylor says turning around. "You ok?"

I look at her with a raised eyebrow as Joe lightly smacks her arm. _Is she serious? Of course I'm not ok!_

"Sorry stupid question. It's just that…well you know we'll get there in time. Right?"

"Maybe." I say quietly.

"No Spencer!" Joe says firmly and I meet his eyes in the rearview. "There is no maybe. We will get there before that fucking dick does any more fucking damage." He says and I believe him.

I believe him because Joe is always true to his word and because he's currently going like 100 miles per hour up a winding road. I figure that at this speed we're either going to crash and die, or get there before they get a chance to really cause some damage.

I move my gaze back out the window and watch the world fly by us with each passing second. It's been 5 hours, 25 minutes, and 53 seconds since I last saw Ashley and it's killing me to think that I'm the reason she's in this whole mess. If I hadn't said anything to begin with then none of this would be happening. She wouldn't have run out and we would be back at my apartment, cuddled up on the couch watching a movie safe from the outside world for another night.

We turn onto a dirt road and about 100 yards down, the car skids as Joe fiercely presses the brake and the back fishtails out as Joe maintains control of the car and brings it to a stop. Glen skids to a stop about two feet away from the back end of Joe's car. We all jump out and Glen points to Aiden's car which is parked about fifty feet away. We take off running in the direction that Kyla and Aiden would have taken Ashley, and Joe and Taylor follow us. They've never been here before so they wouldn't really know where to go.

Me and Glen are leading the pack up the hill, through the wooded area on the side of the road. I'm running as fast as I can because I know that if we don't hurry, it's going to be too late. And I can't let that happen. I reach the top with Glen beside me and we both look around for any sign of Kyla, Aiden, or Ashley. After about thirty seconds Glen grabs my arm.

"Over there." He says.

"Let's go."

We take off running with everyone still behind us. Well everyone except Joe and Taylor. Now where the hell are they? I swear people need to stop fucking disappearing on me. It's really getting old.

We come to the clearing and Glen rushes over to Aiden and jumps on him to get him away from Ashley. I stop dead in my tracks as I look over at her lying on the ground. Chelsea and Madison run into me because I'm standing in the way. Aiden pushed Glen off of him and now they are in an all out brawl. It kind looks like one of those Ultimate Fighting Championship matches, where anything goes.

I run over to Ashley and immediately check for a pulse. She's still breathing so that's good. I start lightly tapping her face and calling out her name.

"Ashley?" I try softly. "Ashley please wake up, baby." I try again. Tears are beginning to form at the rims of my eyes, threatening to pour over.

"Ashley please wake up." I say as I lean down and give her a soft kiss on the lips, hoping that maybe this time it can be like it is in fairytales. But I have no such luck.

Clay comes over to me and Ashley and bends down.

"Come on, Spence. We gotta move her."

I nod my head and Clay helps me prop her up against a tree before he runs over to help Glen with Aiden.

"FUCK YOU, GLEN!" Aiden screams.

"I'M NOT GONNA LET YOU DO THIS AGAIN!" Glen yells back before he throws another punch to Aiden's jaw.

"YOU ARE JUST AS GUILTY AS I AM AND NOW YOU WANNA BE ALL HIGH AND MIGHTY! WELL FUCK YOU!" Aiden says, throwing a punch to Glen's abdomen that knocks the wind out of him momentarily.

"FUCK YOU!" Glen yells charging at him with full force knocking him down.

Out of nowhere Kyla comes out of hiding and hits Clay in the back of the head with a big fucking rock, knocking him to the ground. I can see the blood coming from where the rock hit. No…this can't happen again. I tell Chelsea and Madison to stay with Ashley and I make a bee line for Kyla. I jump her and the rock tumbles from her hand.

Now Glens fighting Aiden and I'm fighting Kyla. On what is basically the side of a fucking hill. _How brilliant are we? Yeah…that's what I thought._ Anyway, if a little bruising means saving Ashley's life then so be it.

"That little bitch needs to be eliminated, Glen! Don't you see! Everything is going to backfire if she is allowed to stay with Spencer!"

"You're fucking crazy Aiden! You know that! You sick fuck!" Glen says getting in another punch.

"Spencer give it up! You'll never get her back to the city in time!" Kyla says throwing a punch and hitting me in the eye.

"Fuck you Kyla! Don't you know that it takes more than knocking someone out with chemicals to kill them! You stupid fuck!" I say punching her again.

She charges at me and I hit my head off a rock on the ground. God that fucking hurt. I can't get up. My head is too heavy and I'm pretty sure that the ground just made a cracking noise. _See brilliant idea to fight on the side of a mountain don't ya think? Oh shut up! _Kyla comes over to me and stands over me with even a larger rock in her hands above her head. I can still hear Glen and Aiden fighting, but all I see right now is my sister with her way out. If she kills me all of this goes away. If she kills me, she doesn't have to face me. But is she capable of doing it?

And what about Ashley. I can't leave her. She needs me. I know she does. And she can't be here alone to face the truth of what happened to her best friend. I haven't even really showed her just how much I love her and want to be with her. I haven't been anything but a nuisance in her life and I want the chance to make it up to her. All of it.

I look up to Kyla and stare into her blackened eyes.

"Say you're prayers Spencer." She says through gritted teeth.

"So that's it. You're just going to kill me. Your own flesh and blood. And for that asshole!"

"Shut up, Spencer!"

"No. If I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die saying what's on my fucking mind!"

"SHUT UP!" She yells.

"We're family Kyla. Above everything else, me and you are still family!"

And then I hear it. The gun shots echo through the mountain like a piercing scream that goes unheard. Kyla stumbles back and drops the rock. It takes a second for my eyes to adjust before I notice that Kyla's been shot. I'm able to slowly sit up and her eyes are wide eyed and staring straight at me. I look over to where Glen and Aiden were and I see Aiden lying on the ground as well, with blood pouring out of his shoulder. I look over to where Ashley, Madison, Chelsea and Clay are and I see Taylor and Joe standing in front of them with their 9 mm handguns still smoking at the barrel.

I notice that Ashley has woken up and she's groggy but she looks as scared as everyone else. Too bad Joe and Taylor don't like when people mess with them. I'm just glad that she's awake and alive though. I look at the scene in front of me and I can't believe it.

I try to stand up but fail miserably as I fall right back down to the ground.

"We need to get them to a hospital. Now!" Is the last thing I hear before my eyes close.

6 hours, 2 minutes, and 54 seconds is how long it took for my world to go black.


	37. Chapter 28: A Fresh Start?

**Here's another one. I will have one more chapter for you all tonight. So let me know what you think. **

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**Chapter 28: A Fresh Start**

**Ashley's POV**

It's been a week since the whole ordeal with Aiden and Kyla, and it still kind of freaks me out a little. I didn't even see them coming and I still have no idea what that whole thing was about. I mean considering that I'm apparently the center of everyone's plan, Aiden's lack of sanity seems a little overboard at the moment. But who cares, right? I mean now that him and Kyla went all psycho on everyone, no one wants to help him. I'm just glad that everyone is basically ok.

Kyla lost a lot of blood from the gunshot and Aiden lost a lot of blood from being cut with a pocket knife and shot in the arm. They're both still in the hospital which is kind of nice. There's a strange calmness around town and people are almost letting their guards down. Almost. I mean the Mayor is still the Mayor so it's not like they're gonna throw a party or anything.

Anyway, Clay and Spencer suffered mild concussions from being hit on the head with some rocks. The doctor told them that they were lucky because it could have been worse. Spencer also had this sort of vertigo moment when she passed out. The doctor said that she was dehydrated and that the dehydration coupled with her current stress level and the concussion caused her to pass out. They did keep them both in the hospital for observation for a few days, but they're home now. Safe and sound.

But it's weird how everything is right now. Looking back on what happened that day I realize that it could have been prevented if I just didn't walk away. Don't get me wrong, I am pissed beyond belief that it was my best friend who died that night and no one told me. But, I can't blame Spencer. I really don't think that she played a part in it. And it's not just because I love her or because she told me her story. I believe her because there's something so innocent in the way that she told it. She had so much emotion and a person who can take another life, doesn't understand the value of the emotional toll involved with something like that. They are almost always incapable of showing any sort of emotion or remorse. It's usually like having a date with the devil or something.

What gets me more is the fact that I cannot figure out what game everyone is playing. I don't know if I really trust Glen, Madison, Clay, and Chelsea. I mean, sure, they're being all nice and supportive right now, but I can't help but think that they're only doing it to save their own asses. And what's even more interesting is that Spencer is barely talking to them. She'll walk into the local coffee shop and run into them and then like clockwork you could cue the awkward silence music for like fifteen minutes. It becomes an all out staring contest between her and them until they realize that other people are watching them carefully. I just don't get it. But I have conceded to the fact that I'm probably not going to understand everything surrounding this whole bizarre situation.

And don't even get me started on the awkwardness that surfaces when Spencer runs into Mayor Jenkins. That man is seriously holding a grudge and I know it's because she could basically ruin him forever. Spencer has so much dirt on just about everyone in this town that it makes me wonder how one person can have such a strong hold on an entire town. Here there is not a system of checks and balances. It's a system of if we're nice to her then maybe she won't actually go through with this. And have I mentioned the insane amount of reporters who have come to this town trying to get interviews and find out the dirt. And no one is talking. It's kind of funny to see them run out of town one by one. But I guess we need to find entertainment somehow. So why not at their expense?

Anyway, back to what I was saying. Mayor Jenkins has called more town meetings in the past week than I have seen the entire time I have been here. Of course, Spencer isn't invited but that doesn't mean that she doesn't know what going on. That girl has more spies in this town than the damn CIA. Hell, she could be her own intelligence agency at the rate she's going. But who's counting? And what's even funnier about this whole thing is that no one who's giving her information knows about the others who are doing the same thing. I guess they're trying to save themselves from an earth shattering lawsuit. They could lose everything, so why not stay on her good side? But I still don't even know if it's possible for an entire town to actually go bankrupt but I have a feeling that I'll find out.

I'm walking through town like I do every morning to get my paper and coffee, and I can't help but think that I've entered some kind of twilight zone. It's kind of like these people are from some alternate universe because for some reason everyone has become all solemn and shit. I mean it's amusing and all but you would think that it was the end of the world. And maybe it is, but you would think that these people would want to enjoy what's left of their lives as they know them. Like they say, you can run from your past but eventually it's going to catch up to you and force you to face it, head on. There's no hiding from one's past indiscretions and there's no hiding from this either. Maybe they just don't want to deal with it. Who knows? What I do know is that I need some damn coffee.

I go into the local coffee shop and place my order. While I'm waiting for the barista to finish making it, I look around the place and everyone is looking down at their respective tables and clutching their coffee as if their lives depended on it. Uhh…did I miss something? That's a little odd and out of character. Even for these people. The barista hands me my coffee and I scan the room again, thinking that maybe it was just some odd coincidence. But everyone still has their heads down. What the hell is going on? Maybe it's just the people in here.

I walk outside expecting to see the solemn faces of the people who inhabit this town, but instead all I see is the top of their heads. Seriously, this is getting a little weird. I mean they may feel beat but for the love of God it cannot be that bad. I gotta get back to Spencer and see if she knows anything. Hell, I gotta get back and see if she'll actually talk to me for more than two seconds today. Did I mention that she hasn't spoken much since that day in the woods? No? Well...she hasn't and it's killing me. But I love that she came after me and faced up to Aiden and Kyla. And I think that's it's the whole thing with Kyla that's been bothering her. I mean how would you feel if your own sister wanted you dead? I bet you wouldn't be too thrilled about it and neither is Spencer.

I continue walking down the street towards the apartment building and with each step I become more determined to find out what has all of these people afraid to look at anyone. Obviously they all have some repressed issues or something because this is just pure insanity. My cell phone rings to life, bringing me out of my thoughts. I throw the paper under my left arm while holding the coffee in my left hand, and take the phone out of my right jacket pocket. I roll my eyes as my mother's name flashes across the caller id. I flip open the phone and bring it to my ear.

"Hello?" I say a little annoyed that she interrupted my quest to find the apparently insane.

"_Really Ashley. You could lose the attitude." _

"I'm fine mom. And you?" I say continuing my journey home.

"_Good. But I didn't ask how you were doing."_

"I noticed. So what's up? It's gotta be pretty important if you don't even care how I'm doing."

"_I'm coming to visit."_ Uhh…What?

"What? Why?"

"_Does it really matter Ashley? We need to talk and I think that we need to do it in person."_

"Mom…if this about Spencer I don't want to hear it." I say getting more annoyed by the second.

"_Ashley just be at the airport at two tomorrow afternoon."_

"Mom I…" CLICK!

She seriously just hung up on me? Oh this is going to be a fucking nightmare. I know it. What the hell could she possibly have to say to me in person? I mean all she's been doing for the last week and a half is bitching to me about Spencer and who she really is and blah…blah…blah. Quite frankly I'm a little fucking tired of the Spencer bashing. Besides it's not like this town is going to welcome her with open arms or anything. They've all gone off the deep end and the outcome doesn't look too pretty. It's like they're possessed. Well, if nothing else tomorrow should be interesting. I wonder what could possibly make her fly all the way out here. Hell, I wonder about a lot things…don't I? I'm gonna have to work on that.

I finally get home and make my way to Spencer's apartment. I let myself in and I swear that this apartment is so fucking quiet that you could hear a damn pin drop. I see Spencer sitting on the couch and her eyes meet mine as I sit down next to her and place a small kiss on her forehead. She gives me a slight smile and as I place the paper on the coffee table I notice all of the papers spread on and around the coffee table. My eyebrows raise and I give her a confused look. _Hey it seems to be working for me these days._ I bring my eyes back to meet hers and she takes a deep breath.

"You wanna know why everyone's acting weird…right?" _What? Can she read minds now or something?_

"The thought crossed my mind once or twice on my way back here." I reply taking a sip of my coffee.

"Well, it's a bit strange but here it goes."

_Please like my day could get any weirder._


	38. Chapter 29: She Knew!

**Ok..Here's the last one for the night. Let me know what you think.**

**Oh and the shits about to hit the fan...in a way :) Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 29: She Knew!**

**Spencer's POV**

Have you ever had that dream where you're falling from some high place, plummeting to the earth below you? A million thoughts running through your mind. You keep falling faster and faster and the earth never seems to get closer. You wonder: Is this it? Is this what my life has come to? And as fast as the dream begins you are jarred awake before you ever get the chance to hit the ground. You wake up a little scared because you don't know what just happened. You don't know what that dream means and then all of a sudden you come to a realization. You realize that you're having that dream because of something else that is going on in your life. Because you feel like at some point, you lost control of your life and now you are conveniently spiraling into this big abyss, with no end in sight.

I know you've had that dream at least once and for me, it's like a recurring nightmare. Somewhere along the way I lost control. Somewhere along the way I let reality slip away from me. Somewhere in this whole mess, I've managed to lose sight of the very thing that I came here to do.

I don't know why. I don't know where everything got so messed up and it's beyond frustrating. That dream has transferred from my unconscious state of mind into my waking hours and I feel like I have become a weightless mass suspended in time. I don't know what to think anymore. I don't know what's true and what isn't. I think that I've spent so much time focusing on how this town did me wrong that I didn't pay attention to the signs and realize that there was something more going on. I mean how could I even begin to see a lie buried so deep in this town's core that I became blind to the truth that was right in front of me the whole time. The truth that I didn't want to see.

I don't understand how a group of people could be so naïve. I don't understand why they insist on protecting the very person who terrorizes them on a daily basis. Is it the security in knowing that as long as they keep their mouths shut then nothing will happen to them? Is it the false security that they are immune to the true evils that exist in the world today? I just don't know anymore. And since I woke up this morning I realize that I'm not so sure I ever really knew anything at all.

Maybe Kyla did. Maybe she just thought that if she could kill me, then I never would have found out. Maybe that's what they all wanted. And I don't even know how many people really know the truth. I don't know how many people could be sick enough to keep a secret like this and act as if nothing had ever happened. How they could walk around acting as if it was just another day that they needed to get through. Another day that was simply marked off their calendar as just another twenty-four hours that they have spent on this earth. Twenty-four hours that has brought them closer to the end of their own time here. And all it makes you do is see that these people really don't care about anything other than themselves.

To say that I am simply angry would be an understatement. To say that I am beyond pissed would not even begin to cover it. I wake up this morning to find out a devastating truth that apparently isn't that devastating at all to most of these people. I wake up facing another day of contemplating the fact that my sister probably would have killed me and then this happens. I don't even know where to start. But, that doesn't mean that I won't try.

I woke up this morning like I have every day for the past week. Tired, withdrawn, irritated, and even more vengeful. I still can't seem to wrap the notion around my head that Kyla probably would have killed me if she hadn't been shot first. I mean who would even be able to imagine their own flesh and blood trying to kill them? Who would be able to just brush something like that off without a second thought? I mean you'd be insane if you said that it wasn't at least a little disturbing. Wouldn't you?

I guess you could say that it's been bothering me because I can't figure out why it bothers me so much after all the pain that Kyla has caused me. But even that's not important anymore. To be honest, the only thing that matters to me now is showing these people what hell on earth really is. The only thing that matters is finishing what I came here to do because now I see what true deception is all about. Now, there is no sympathy to be had.

For the past week Ashley has been staying with me. I think she's afraid that I might do something stupid. I mean it's not like I've actually talked to her all that much since the incident with Kyla and Aiden. But, I've never really been one to talk about the things that bother me and I didn't even know how to explain the way I've been feeling. But, she's been here every day, whether it's just sitting beside me on the couch or walking silently through the streets of town. She's been there and that means something to me.

That's why I knew that Ashley had probably gone out to get her morning coffee like she always does and I went downstairs to make myself some breakfast like I always do. When I got to the kitchen I looked at the clock on the wall and noticed that it was nine in the morning. I took a pan out of the cabinet to make some pancakes and I heard a knock at the door. I cursed whoever was at the door because I wasn't really in the mood to see anybody. But, when I looked through the peephole, no one was there. I took a deep breath and opened the door only to find the hallway empty. I went to walk down to the elevators when I was stopped in my tracks by my foot hitting a plastic bag on the ground. I noticed that there were papers inside the bag and deciding against looking for whoever interrupted my peaceful breakfast, I picked up the bag and brought it into my apartment. Securely closing and locking the door behind me.

I put the bag on the coffee table and went into the kitchen to get a glass of orange juice. I stood in back of the counter and drank the juice while my eyes remained fixed on the plastic bag filled with papers. I was thinking about all the things that it could be. I was thinking that this was just another ploy in their attempt to get me to give up and just accept things as they are. I was thinking that this was just another attempt to get me to reconsider. But, I never thought that it was an attempt to send everything flying out of control. I never thought that what was in that plastic bag could throw everything that I ever thought I knew right out the window. But I couldn't have been more wrong if I tried.

I refilled the glass with orange juice and brought it over to the couch. I sat down holding the glass with both hands and my eyes never leaving the bag that lay in front of me. I placed the glass on the table and took a deep breath before I reached over and lifted the bag off the table. Obviously there was something there that someone wanted me to see, so why not honor their request? Right?

I flipped the bag upside down and the contents came spilling out until the bag was empty. I took the newspaper that lay on the top of the pile and flipped it over to see the front page. And there was my mistake. As I looked at the front page I froze. Everything after that happened in slow motion. The paper dropped from my hands back onto the coffee table and the sound echoed in my ears. The sounds of the town outside were drowned out by an incessant ringing as my eyes remained fixed on the picture in front of me. I looked at the date of the paper and the realization that it was from today made me realize that I wasn't dreaming. It made me realize everything had changed.

It felt like a dream. So many emotions passing through me in a matter of minutes and all I could see was a past that I knew nothing about. After a few minutes I looked at the rest of the papers contained in the plastic bag and I realized that nothing is ever what it seems.

I scanned those papers for a good thirty minutes trying to figure out how they had done this. Trying to figure out how they managed to alter the documents and the morning paper because it had to be a lie. It had to be a setup because I would have known. Someone would have let it slip by now. This couldn't be happening. Not now.

I heard the key in the lock and I knew that it was Ashley. I also knew that the entire town was probably acting a little strange after seeing the latest edition of the Riverview Times. Therefore, I knew that she would have questions. I sat back on the couch and waited quietly for her to enter the apartment. She closed the door quietly and slowly made her way over to me. When she walked in front of the couch I saw her look questioningly at the papers on the table and then her eyes locked with mine as she placed a soft kiss on my forehead and sat down next to me. She places her copy of the paper down on the table and as soon as I see the front page I know that all of this is either some kind of sick joke or it is really happening.

Ashley's eyebrows raise and she gives me a confused look as her eyes meet mine once again. I can see the questions in her eyes and the sheer curiosity of what is going on in town today and I know that everyone has been acting way too out of character for their behavior to go unnoticed. I continue to stare into her eyes as she takes a sip of her coffee.

"You wanna know why everyone's acting weird…right?"

Her eyebrows raise and furrow in a state of slight confusion. I bet she's wondering how I knew what she was thinking.

"The thought crossed my mind once or twice on my way back here." She replies taking another sip of her coffee.

I nod my head slightly and turn my attention back to the papers lying on the coffee table. How the hell do I even begin to explain this? How do I begin to tell her something that I can't even wrap my head around? This is insane! It's fucking crazy! But I have to try. I have to try because on some level she deserves to know. I continue staring at the picture on the front page of the paper. My throat is dry and the words are there but they just don't want to come out. Saying what is on the tip of my tongue will make it true. It will make it real and I'm not so sure that I want it to be.

"Spencer, what's going?" She says softly.

I turn my head and my eyes meet hers once again. I can see the confusion and concern that is laced in her beautiful brown eyes and I know I have to say something. I just wonder if she can see the confusion and pain that is laced through my baby blues and etched all over my face.

"Well, it's a bit strange…" I start slowly. "…and I don't even know if I understand it. But, here it goes." I say letting out a deep breath.

She reaches over and places her hand over mine.

"Whatever it is Spence. I want to know. You can tell me." She says giving my hand a gentle squeeze.

I nod my head slightly and swallow hard. I wonder if she'll be singing the same tune in a couple minutes.

"It's about the picture." I say looking back at the paper.

She looks at the paper and I see her brows furrow as I look at her out of the corner of my eyes.

"They say a picture is worth a thousand words…and this one is worth more than that, Ash. This one changes everything."

"Spence…I'm not following." She says confused. "It's just a picture with some stupid article that doesn't mean anything."

I look at her and I can tell that she's trying to defend something. Does she know something that I don't? She doesn't even know what I'm talking about so why does she feel the need to explain herself?

"What are you talking about Ashley?"

"You were talking about the picture. I was just saying that the article doesn't mean anything. I'm not going anywhere."

_Uhh…what?_

"I don't understand. What does this have to do with you?" I say pointing to the picture. "Do you know who this is?"

_Hey, if she's going to defend it I might as well know if she knows anything._

"Well…yeah." She says slightly confused.

I get up and walk over to the fireplace.

"Who is it?" I ask softly.

"What?"

"You said you know who is in the picture." I say turning around to face her. "So tell me who it is."

She stands up from the couch and stares deeply into my eyes. My anger is growing by the minute and I'm not sure why because there's no way she could know. After a few minutes she breaks the silence.

"Spencer, what's going on? Why does one picture have to change anything?"

"WHO IS IT, ASHLEY?" I yell a little louder than I should have, causing Ashley to flinch and step back.

I calm my nerves a little and continue in a slightly softened tone.

"Clearly we are talking about two different things, Ash. I just want to know what you are talking about and then I'll tell you why it matters." I say taking a tentative step closer to her. "So please, tell me."

Ashley grabs the paper off of the coffee table and holds it up in front of her. She looks at the front page for a few seconds before letting out a deep breath and turning it around so that I can see it. She points to the woman in the picture and looks into my eyes.

"My mother is building a new complex in Boardman. This is her and her business partner, Dave Moreno. They're supposed to be there for the groundbreaking." She says softly.

She lets the paper drop back onto the coffee table but never takes her eyes off of me. She really has no clue.

"But Spencer, just because she's building a new complex doesn't mean that I'm going anywhere. I already told her that I didn't want to live there and that I wanted to stay here because I want to be with you." She says stepping closer to me. "Besides, that doesn't explain why everyone's acting all weird today."

I let out a slight chuckle and shake my head because she obviously has no idea about anything that's going on. This is all so surreal and I can't help but feel a little sorry for her. I can't help but feel that for one reason or another this man has made some sort of impact on her life and that's the problem. She has been putting trust in a man who doesn't deserve her trust. And what's even more frustrating is that she knew. Her mother knew and she didn't say anything.

"How long have you known him, Ashley? How long has he worked with you mother?" I ask.

"I don't know Spencer…" She says clearly aggravated. "…around fifteen years." _She's definitely frustrated and confused._ "Why does it matter?"

I walk over to the desk and take out a picture from the top drawer. I clutch the picture in my hands, with the front facing my body as I make my way over to her. My eyes go between her and the picture in my hands as I take a deep breath and lock my eyes onto hers.

"Ashley…" I start slowly. "…that man isn't who you think he is." I say softly.

"Then who is he, Spencer." She says exasperated.

I place the picture down on the coffee table next to the picture on the front page of the newspaper. I see her eyes go wide and I think she's a little in shock as she looks back up to me.

"He's my father."


	39. Chapter 30 Part 1: Where's Dave?

**Sorry about not updating in a couple of days. I've been crazy busy trying to reach deadlines. **

**Anyway, here's the next chapter for you all and things are getting crazy. **

**I will post a few more tonight as well. Maybe shed some light on this Dave/Arthur Business. Enjoy! :)**

**As always I don't own SON. Just borrowing the characters for a bit. **

**Irishgrl33: I know things may be a bit confusing but it will all tie in together. Arthur was my last major twist before Spencer puts her plan in motion. I do promise that you will have all of your answers soon. :)**

**DontMindBnCrazy: LOL...I'm glad you're enjoying it. Arthur is alive and well and what is going on with that will be explained over the next few chapters. I guess Spencer just can't catch a break...yet!**

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**Chapter 30.1: Where's Dave?**

**Ashley's POV**

You have got to be fucking kidding me! Dave is Spencer's father? Her fucking father! And no one decided that it would be a good idea to fucking tell me? What the hell? I have been up all night and you better believe that for the first time in my LIFE I am actually counting the seconds before my mother arrives because I want to see her. Did she know? I mean she had to know. Why else would she be all hell bent on me not being with Spencer. You know…aside from the fact that she thinks that Spencer killed Maryanne. Well, at least I think that's what my mother thinks. I mean I guess I can't really know that for sure anymore. Right?

Spencer and I stayed in all day and up all night because when she first said that Dave…umm…I mean Arthur…was her father I was a little shocked. I mean her father died. HE DIED FOR CHRIST SAKES! UGH…that's it! I am officially done with this whole fucking conspiracy theory or whatever the fuck it is that is going on with this town. I mean I always thought it was strange that Kyla and Paula never had any pictures of him around the house but I just brushed it off because they said it was too painful to be reminded of the good times with all of the bad that had happened. Yeah right! Painful my ass! They just wanted to forget him.

And speaking of Paula and Kyla, I can't help but wonder if they knew he was alive. Hell I can't help but wonder if this whole fucking town knew that he was alive. Honestly, it wouldn't fucking surprise me. Not one bit. Everyone in this goddamn town has gone completely fucking insane. Although I'm not so sure they were planning a reunion any time soon. I mean really? That is one hell of a fucking wake up call. But maybe they were expecting it! Who the hell knows? I'm having a hard time keeping up with all of this shit!

And who does it affect most? Spencer…that's who! And there's nothing I can do or say to make any of this better because it is just so fucked up that I don't even think she understands. I mean how would you react if you found out that your father was alive after thinking he was dead for ten years? Definitely not rationally…that's for sure. And then to find out that he's worked with my mother for fifteen years! Well, that's pretty much a slap in the face and one big old fuck you!

But it makes me wonder about this whole situation. I mean it's a small world and all but it isn't that fucking small. How the hell did he pull it off? Did my mother help? Was this whole thing just some sort of fucked up game of father knows best? Because this is even more twisted than I ever could have imagined. No wonder the fucking idiots in this town were walking around with their goddamn heads down yesterday. I'd be ashamed and embarrassed too if I made a girl believe her father was dead for whatever fucking lame reason they could come up with. And how many of them actually knew? How many of them saw this coming from a fucking mile away and decided that it would be a good idea to keep her in the fucking dark for as long as they possibly could? More importantly, what the fuck is going on with these people? Seriously!

Like I said before, once Spencer made her huge revelation I was in complete shock. I mean this guy didn't only lie to her. He lied to me and I looked up to him. He was always easy going and he was someone I could talk to when my parents weren't around, which was most of my childhood. I just don't understand how he could betray me like this. I don't understand how he could betray Spencer like this. What kind of person could actually treat their own flesh and blood this way? How cold and indifferent could he possibly be?

Spencer and I were in the living room. She was staring at me and I was staring at the two pictures in utter disbelief.

"_What did you just say?" I say sitting down and tracing the pictures with my fingers._

"_He's my father, Ashley." She says as calmly as she can._

"_That's impossible, Spencer." I say looking back up to her. "You said he was dead. You went to his funeral. You…" _

"_I know." She says cutting me off. "I can't explain it. I thought he was dead. I thought that they killed him. I thought…" She sits down next to me and runs a hand through her hair. "I don't know what I thought." She says so quietly that I almost didn't hear her. _

"_This has to be some sort of coincidence, Spencer." I say looking back at the pictures. "Someone would have put it all together by now. Someone would have let it slip."_

"_I don't believe in coincidences, Ashley."_

"_But, Spencer. I know this man. Maybe…" I turn my head to look at her and she looks back. "…Maybe he has a brother or something that you don't know about."_

_Spencer rolls her eyes and gets up from the couch. I know it's a stretch but…hey…it could happen._

"_Come on, Ashley! Open your eyes!"Ok maybe not. _

"_Spencer…"_

"_No, Ash! You may not want to believe it but that man standing with your mother is MY father! A father that I thought was fucking dead! And this town…" She says pointing out the window. "…This fucking town knew he was alive and not one of them fucking said anything."_

"_You can't know who knew and who didn't."_

"_Is that what you think?"_

I'm sitting in my car at the airport, gripping the staring wheel. My knuckles are white and I'm gritting my teeth. I look over to the clock in the dashboard and I see that my mother arrives in fifteen minutes. You can bet that I was going to get here early after this whole debacle. I want to know what she knows and I want to know why she would keep something like this from me. I want to know how she could work with a man that has spent the last decade lying to everyone he meets.

And I don't know what's worse. The fact that he lied or the fact that everything about him is written all over Spencer's personality. I knew that there was something familiar about her. I just couldn't put my finger on it and now that I know that Dave, or Arthur, or whatever the fuck his name is, is her father it all makes sense. I can't believe that I was so stupid that I couldn't see it before and make the connection.

"_My mother flies in tomorrow." I state flatly._

_Her head shoots over in my direction and I know I got her attention. I just hope she doesn't have whiplash too._

"_What?"_

"_She called me on my way back here this morning and told me that her plane lands at two in the afternoon."_

_She stands up straight and crosses her arms over her chest. _

"_And you're just telling me now?" She asks slightly aggravated._

"_I completely forgot until now…well with all the breaking news and all." I say shrugging my shoulders. _

_She shakes her head and turns toward the window. _

Taylor came in after that, saw the pictures and nearly fell to the ground. She tried to get Spencer to talk but when she realized that Spencer wasn't going to say anything she just left the apartment and went to pick up some more stuff from the store. Honestly, I don't think that my sticking around did any good either. Spencer was just completely out of it for hours. And not for nothing but absolutely nothing good can come out thinking for that long. I mean she was fuming. And she had every right to be. Hell I'm fuming and I don't have nearly the amount of reasons to be pissed off as Spencer does. If it were up to me I'd just blow up the town and leave it at that.

But that's what worries me. Spencer won't do something drastic that happens all at once. If there's one thing I know it's that she would rather see them suffer over a period of time than all at once at the hand of one catastrophic event. And who could blame her?

Its two o'clock and my mother will be walking out the airport doors any minute now and I can't seem to figure out how I'm going to go about asking her about "Dave". I mean should I just come out and ask or should I sucker punch her in the face and then ask her? Oh the decisions that must be made!

Did you like the sarcasm? Yeah? Me too!

Anyway, back to what I was saying. Who could really blame Spencer for wanting revenge? I can't and neither can anyone else. I mean if they all really knew that he was alive and still let this shit happen to her they have a lot to answer for. Especially since one of the reasons she was in prison was because of suspicion of involvement in his death. They never did prove it or bring any light to it, but it always lingered over her like a dark cloud. Even her mother and Kyla blamed her for his untimely death. So what exactly could make this right? And you know…they deserve everything that they have coming to them.

I look up and see my mother walking through the airport doors towards the car. A smug smile on her face as she drags her bag behind her. This must be a short visit because she's traveling light for her standards. Go figure. Too bad she doesn't know that I know anything.

"_Tell me it's a coincidence, Ashley!" Spencer yells while picking up the paper. "Tell me that the fact that an article was written about your mother the day before she arrives in town is a fucking matter of circumstance!"_

"_Spencer. I admit it's a little weird. But we don't even know what's going on."_

"_They blamed me Ashley! They made me feel like shit for fucking ten years. They made me believe that my actions KILLED my father!" She says throwing the paper back down. _

"_Spencer…" I try but she is too pissed off to even hear me. _

"_Ten years, Ashley! TEN FUCKING YEARS! And you're going to sit there and tell me that this isn't all connected somehow!" _

"_I don't know what to think anymore Spencer!" I yell. _

But as my mother places her bag in the backseat of my car I can see a piece of paper sticking out of her briefcase and it dawns on me as she takes a seat next to me. My mother isn't here for the groundbreaking of her new apartment building. She's here to talk about this. She's here to see Spencer and explain this whole ordeal because Spencer was getting too close. Me and Spencer were getting too close and in true Christine fashion, my mother decided that the truth should come out with a bang. I realize that she had to of had the article printed, and she had to of had one dropped off at Spencer's by someone she knew. But with all the questions that come with that revelation, the only question that matters now is: Where's Dave?


	40. Chapter 30 Part 2: How Long?

**Here's part two for you all! Hope you like it! Let me know what you think!**

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**Chapter 30.2: Where's Dave?**

**Spencer's POV**

It's 2:15. Ashley's probably already got her mother and they're probably already on their way back to the apartment building from the airport. Part of me wonders what type of conversation they are having. But the other part of me is happy that I don't know because if I was there I would probably strangle the woman and I don't even know her. No wonder she was trying to keep me and Ashley apart. The woman's been working with my father and she knew it! I mean, honestly, what kind of cold hearted bitch do you have to be to keep a secret like that? This woman is in way over her head and I may not have had a problem with her before, but I sure as hell have one now! Nevertheless she is only one person on a long list of people that I'd like to strangle and watch suffer right now. One of the other people topping my list is about fifty feet away.

I am currently standing in a hallway, looking through the doors that will bring me to Kyla's hospital room. I want to beat the shit out of her too but if I do that, I won't get the answers from her that she needs to give up. If there is any humanity left in her then she will tell me what she knows. And I realize that coming here is pretty much false hope but I need to know. I need to know if she knew that our father was alive. And if she did, I need to know how she could do this to me.

But don't think for a second that I expect a straight answer from her. I know that she will drag this out and lie for as long as she possibly can. But the thing with Kyla is that you can always tell when she's lying because she fiddles with her hands and picks at her cuticles. It's kind of like an unconscious response when she doesn't want to let someone know something. It's also ridiculously predictable.

But her predictability is going to get her hurt. I don't know how long she has known for but I do know that she had to know something. Something had to turn her into this monster. Something had to make her want me dead and the only thing that makes sense is that she would rather kill me then see me together with my father again. I've probably already mentioned this but Kyla was insanely jealous of my relationship with our father. I never understood why because he always treated us the same, but if she wasn't always the center of attention she would throw a fit. Which leads me to believe that maybe some things don't change.

What gets me is that I have no idea what to feel right now. I have so many emotions coursing through my body that part of me wants to disprove this. Part of me wants to believe that this is all some kind of sick joke. Part of me wants to just rewind the last two days and start all over. I can't believe that he did this to me. I can't believe that he lied to me all these years and let me suffer at the hands of his choices. But, they won't get the last laugh. They won't win. Not anymore. And I will get the answers that I came here to get.

I see my mother exit Kyla's hospital room and walk down the hallway to the elevators. She looks almost pained. How sad. I guess she can't face it when a lie catches up to her. Although you would think that an all points bulletin would have gone out after the admission in yesterday's paper. Someone should have thought that I would have come here. Or maybe they are just too naïve to think that I would actually show up to confront my sister in such a public place.

I came in the service entrance so no one would see me. Actually no one was even near that entrance which further proves my theory that these people are morons. I probably could have walked through the front door, but there's no need to attract the attention of security before I get my two cents in. I see my mother disappear around the corner as the nurses and orderlies finish making their morning rounds. Everything in this town is so predictable and in about five minutes, these halls will be empty and I will be able to make my way to Kyla's room undetected.

"_What are you going to do, Spencer?" Ashley asks softly._

"_I don't know." I say sitting back down next to her. "But I can't let them get away with it, Ash. Not now. Not after this."_

_Ashley nods her head slightly in understanding. She turns her body towards me and takes my hands in hers. _

"_Just don't do anything stupid."She says as a small smile creeps across my face._

"_There's nothing stupid about getting even."_

Or maybe there is and I just don't give a damn right now. I'm still trying to process this whole thing. I'm trying to find a reasonable explanation. I mean I'm searching the depths of my soul here because there has to be a valid reason why they all did this to me…Right? There has to be a valid reason why my mother and Kyla treated me the way that they did. There has to be a reason why my father basically hung me out to dry. There has to be a reason why everyone set me up and no one wanted me to know. And just how far does it stretch? How many people actually know the truth? Because let me tell you…this is some first class, grade A, fucked up shit!

And then there's always the question of why Kyla tried to kill me. But something tells me that she's not going to be too forthcoming with answers on that issue. Hell, she's not going to be too forthcoming on any issue that I bring up now. But, maybe this town was set into a panic when the article came out yesterday because I was never supposed to know. Maybe someone fucked up by assuming too much. After all, it would explain the pure shock on pretty much everyone's face and this town runs off of insane assumptions.

But I don't really care about all that. What I care about is finding out the truth about my father and making this town suffer because of it. I can't even begin to imagine how they thought that they could get away with this. Don't they realize that the truth always comes out at some point? I mean they can't be that stupid…can they?

"_Spence all I'm saying is that you need to think about this before you go and do something that you're going to regret."_

"_I'm not going to regret it, Ashley. You wanna know why?"_

_She lets out a jagged breath before answering._

"_Why?" _

"_Because they deserve everything that they have coming to them and don't tell me that you aren't the least bit curious about all this, Ash. I mean your mom knows my father and the world just isn't that small for it to be a coincidence."_

_She tightens her grasp on my hand._

"_I know ok…I'm just worried about you."_

"_Don't be." I say before I lean over and give her a soft, lingering kiss on the lips. _

And she may not know it, but that one simple kiss spoke volumes. What can I say? I'm in love with the girl and we haven't done anything but steal kisses here and there. I think I'm going to have to change that regardless of what the hell is going on right now. I have to show her just how much I love her. I have to show her that I'm going to be ok as long as I have her with me because I'm not so sure that I could do without her anymore.

I look at my watch again and notice that it's 2:25. I peek down the hallway and find it deserted just like I knew it would be. After all it is break time! And, yes, I know that it's sad that I know that. Just get over it and go with me here.

Anyway, I quietly open the door in the service entrance hallway and close it behind me just as quietly so that I don't draw any unwanted attention. I slowly make my way down the hallway to room 1502 where Kyla is lying peacefully no doubt. _You should have brought a camera because the look on her face is going to be priceless. _A smile creeps across my face as I pass each of the rooms. I swear I always think of things after the fact.

1509…1507…1506. I slide my fingers across each of the plaques as I pass each room that brings me closer to my destination. For a minute I wonder if she's alone or if they actually have someone guarding her just in case of an impromptu visit from me. Although that would require the people in this town to actually grow back a few brain cells. And I'm pretty sure that's asking too much.

I reach Kyla's room and I take one more look around the deserted hallway, laughing to myself. _Don't these people know that there should be someone on the floor at all times?_ Like I said, they're complete morons.

Shaking my head I quietly open Kyla's door, and I can see that she's sleeping in the bed, with two IV's in her arm, an oxygen tube strapped to her nose, and a heart monitor beeping away into the silence. I walk completely into the room and put my back against the door with my hands grasping the handle keeping it slightly open.

_How mean is it to slam a door and startle a patient who just got shot? _

Hmm…I ponder the thought and shove the door shut behind me causing a loud bang to resound throughout the room. Kyla nearly jumps off the bed as the door is slammed shut and it takes everything in my power not to burst out laughing.

_I guess it could give her a slight heart attack. _

After a few seconds of Kyla looking everywhere but at the door, she spots me and her eyes go wide and her face pales even more than it already is.

"Hey Sis!" I say with a smirk on my face as I place one of the guest chairs under the door.

_Don't want anyone getting in just yet._

Kyla starts hitting the button to the nurse's station frantically and I walk over to the bed and grab the control out of her hand.

"Really, Kyla. You should know that they're all on a break. No one's going to be back here for at least another five minutes." I say with my smirk still plastered to my face.

"What…what do you want, Spencer?" She croaks out. Her throat is obviously dry.

_Well, I can't have that. Don't need her going all silent on me now._

I reach over and slide the tray over to her with the tiny bucket of ice on it.

"Have some. It'll sooth you're throat." I say pointing to the tiny bucket.

She reaches over and takes a couple of ice cubes out of the small bucket. Her eyes never leave mine and I know that she knows why I'm here. She's just playing dumb and doing a horrible job at it, I might add.

"So, Kyla. How long have you known about dad?" _What's the point in wasting time?_

She cautiously continues chewing on the ice cubes. I'm trying to keep my composure but my patience is wearing thin. She keeps looking at the clock and I know she's just stalling and counting down the minutes until the staff returns from their little break.

"You can stall all you want Kyla, but no one is getting in here until I have some answers."

"I didn't know until this morning." She answers quietly.

_There she goes doing her hand fidgeting thing. I'm beginning to think that she'll never learn._

"Stop lying, Ky. Me and you both know that's not the truth."

"I'm not! Spencer, you don't understand."

"What exactly don't I understand, Kyla? Because from where I'm standing everything actually makes a whole lot of sense. Couldn't have me ruining everything…now could we?"

"It's not…"

"Where is he, Kyla?"

_BANG! BANG! BANG! _I guess they came back a few minutes early. Not that it matters because I still have a couple minutes before they actually get in.

"I don't know."

The banging continues on the door as the staff and I assume security is trying to get in. I chuckle and turn my attention back to Kyla.

"Where is he?" I say grabbing the oxygen line and putting it in a knot to stop the flow.

"Spencer…please. I can't…" She says struggling for breath.

"WHERE IS HE?" I yell.

"I…I DON"T KNOW…OK! I haven't heard from him in a while. Last time I heard he was staying just outside of town."

I release the oxygen line and grab her wrist, putting pressure on the IV needle.

"How long have you known?" I ask through gritted teeth.

After a few seconds she doesn't answer so I push down harder on the needle and bunch up the Oxygen line again.

She swallows hard. "Everyone knew a month after it happened." She answers defeated before the door to her room flies open.

"Everyone?" I ask.

_Well, I guess that answers the question as to who knew._

I release her hand and step back from the bed. Sheriff Whitely, Paula, and the head nurse stop in their tracks when they see me. What can they possibly think they have to say? I look from them to Kyla and Kyla has her head down. Let me tell you there's nothing like pretending to be remorseful. The nurse leaves the room and my mother attempts to walk toward me but I just step back. All three of them look like a deer caught in headlights. I'm not sure that they even know how to react. How pathetic! I let out a slight laugh while shaking my head.

"Spencer we need…" My mother tries but I cut her off.

"Shut up! I am sick and tired of the poor ass excuses that seem to flow out of your mouths!" I say as my voice rises with each word. "You people are a waste of fucking space and a fucking poor excuse for human beings!"

I make my way to the door and Sheriff Whitely grabs my arm. I yank it away and give him a death glare.

"DON'T EVER FUCKING TOUCH ME! EVER!" I yell causing them to flinch.

I walk out into the hallway and turn back around to face them.

"Congratulations on being the most fucked group of people on the planet. And mark my words…YOU WILL REGRET THE DAY YOU FUCKING CROSSED ME!"

I turn and make my way down the hall, noticing the small group of patients, nurses, and doctor's that have gathered in the hallway. I can hear Sheriff Whitely and my mother calling my name as I continue walking down the hall and through the double doors. I'm going to make them suffer so much that they won't know which end is fucking up by the time I'm done with them. They are going to pay for all of this! Every last fucking one of them will pay! But first I'm going to find my father and make him fucking talk. That man owes me so many fucking explanations that he better have them coming out of his ass by the time I find him!

And they better be good. This time he can say goodbye to daddy's little girl! Because this time I won't back down!


	41. Chapter 31: Memories

**Ok...Here's another one! This will give you a tiny bit of insight to Dave over the last ten years. Enjoy!**

**Ashley's memories are in Italics...just thought I'd throw that out there! **

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**Chapter 31: Memories**

**Ashley's POV**

My mother hasn't said anything to me since she told me to go straight back to the apartment building so that she could drop her stuff off and that was a little over three hours ago. But don't think that it's from lack of me trying because, believe me, I have been trying to get her talk about all of this. About anything really, and I got nothing. She just won't say a word to me and that has me even more curious than I was before. I guess Spencer was right. I do want to know what happened, if for nothing else than to satisfy my own curiosity. But can you blame me? I find out the truth about Maryanne and a week later my mother is in town and Spencer's dead father turns out to be not so dead after all. This whole thing is just so crazy and what's even more frustrating is that Kyla kept her composure long enough to Photoshop some random guy into a family portrait. How sick is that? Seriously? I mean who goes around photoshopping random people into their family pictures just to pass him off as their father? Because the guy I saw in that photo a few weeks ago looks nothing like the real person. No wonder she wouldn't let me hold it. She probably didn't want me to take a good look and figure out that it was a fake. These people are truly unbelievable. They really would go to any length to keep this secret and hurt Spencer.

Speaking of which, where the hell is Spencer? It's almost six in the evening and I haven't seen or heard from her. I told her not to do anything stupid and now I'm worried that she has. I tried calling her but she's not answering. I mean going to see Kyla was a dumb idea. I just hope that she got out of there ok. It's not like her to not call when she says that she will. Although with everything that's been going on I wouldn't blame her if she just locked herself in a room somewhere to get away from the crazy that seems to spread through this fucking town like a goddamn disease. Hell, if I didn't have mommy dearest in the next room then I would lock myself away too. With the people in this town you never know what could happen if you stay in one place longer than two minutes.

Just look at my mother. She's been on the phone ever since we got back three hours ago. I can see her talking animatedly on the phone through the glass window of the manager's office from my spot on the couch that is in the lobby. Every few minutes she'll look over at me as the conversation continues. She's trying to keep her voice down behind the closed door. As if I really don't know who she's talking to on the other end of that line. I swear sometimes that woman thinks that I am so oblivious to what is going on around me. It makes me laugh a little to think that she'd probably blow a gasket if she knew that I knew the truth about Arthur and Maryanne. The woman would have a heart attack if she knew that I knew that she's been lying to me for years. She's probably trying to convince him to come out of whatever hole he's seemingly crawled into and face everything like a man. Although a real man would never do something like this to his own flesh and blood.

But aside from all that and aside from the fact that I heard her say his name a few times in the three hour span of their argument, who the hell else would she be talking to for that long? It's not like she ever talks to the contractors that long and who the hell else would she invest so much damn time into because she certainly wouldn't spend three hours talking to me even if she was yelling. Like I said, everything in this town is fucking crazy!

I lean back on the couch and put my head back as I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose. I just wish that my mother would tell me what the hell is going on for once instead of treating me like I don't have a right to know. I have so many questions and no answers. I'm worried about Spencer because I know that this is killing her and I hate to see her in any pain. Not just because I care about her, but because she closes herself off and becomes so angry that bad things happen. Her temper comes out full force when she's this upset and there's nothing that anyone can do to fix it. I mean all of this was supposed to be simple. It was supposed to be easy. All Spencer was supposed to do is go through with the original plan and everyone would be paying for the rest of their lives. And now…now this happens and everything just keeps getting more and more complicated.

I have spent the last two days doing practically nothing other than thinking. I've been thinking about everything. In fact, I have thought so much that my head is starting to hurt. I've been trying to figure this whole thing out and I know that all the answers are right in front of my face but I can't seem to grasp them. I mean how could my mother do this? She has to know what really happened to Maryanne because it's the only thing that makes any sense in this whole mess. But what about Maryanne's mother? Does she know about all of this? And if she does, then how could she just sit back and just let all of this happen? How could she let her own daughter die for a lie? I mean if I was her, simply being pissed off would be the understatement of the century. What purpose does all this serve other than to destroy the lives of two young girls?

And then there's Arthur. I don't even know where to begin with this one. For most of my life he was the nice, rational guy who worked with my mother. He was a person that I put a lot of trust in because he was always there to just listen to me when I needed it and he did it without bias. In fact, just to add insult to injury, he was the first person that I told I was gay. He even helped me tell my parents and soften the blow to their overwhelming egos. But, now I know that everything that came out of his mouth was nothing more than a fabricated lie stemming from a truth that he was obviously trying desperately to forget.

But what makes it worse is the fact that he did talk about his family eventually. He just talked about them in the past tense because as far as I knew they were dead. Apparently not. Apparently he just told himself the lie so many times over the years that he just started believing it himself. Everything was a lie. And what's even more disturbing is remembering how seemingly unaffected he was by all of it. I remember a conversation that we had a week after I found out about Maryanne. I was really upset, with good reason, and it was one of the first times that I actually opened up to him.

_I was sitting under the pier at the beach. Tears streaming down my face as I looked out at the vastness of the ocean while the sun was setting on the horizon. I was trying to wrap my head around the idea of my best friend dying when Dave walks up behind me and sits down beside me quietly. I turn my gaze to meet his. _

"_Your mother asked me to come check on you on my way home. She's worried." He said simply. _

_I nod my head and turn my gaze back towards the deep, blue sea. He's being patient and I know that. He's waiting for me to talk. Leave it to good 'ole Dave to be a patient man of reason. _

"_I've been trying to imagine what kind of cruel reality makes a person get sick for no apparent reason." I say quietly as the waves crash down in front of us. "I've been trying to imagine what she did to deserve to die. She had her whole life ahead of her and now she's in the ground because of some sick joke that the universe decided to play on her."_

_He sighs deeply and leans back against one of the posts. _

"_Ash, sometimes bad things happen to good people and we can't explain it. We don't understand it. And at some point we just learn to accept it." He says quietly with an even voice._

"_But what if I don't want to accept it, Dave. I hate this. I hate that she's gone. I hate that I'm never going to be able to talk to her again. I hate it all." I say as the tears start pouring out once again._

_He puts his arm around me in an attempt to provide some comfort. _

"_Ash…"He tries but I cut him off._

"_She was my best friend and she was just taken away and deprived of any future that she could've had. Everything destroyed because of one stupid diagnosis that the doctor's made too late."I say with a shaky voice._

_He wraps me up in his arms as I officially break down and cry. I can't stop the tears that are cascading down my face. Dave's rubbing my back telling me that it's going to be ok. This just hurts too much. Maryanne is the first person I have lost that has actually meant something to me. _

_After a few minutes Dave pulls back and puts his hands on my shoulders so that he has my undivided attention as I look into his caring eyes when he begins to speak._

"_Ashley, what happened was out of the control of the doctors. Hating them won't bring your friend back. Some things are a matter of circumstance and others…well others are a matter of potential good will. Maryanne lived her life and she loved every minute of it. She never regretted a moment which is more than most people can say." He says calmly._

"_You don't know that." I say quietly turning away and looking back out at the ocean. "And it doesn't make it hurt any less." _

"_I know sweetie. And honestly, it doesn't get any easier, you just learn to live with it and move on because that is what you need to do." He says firmly. "And you know, sometimes all the things we think we know in life are completely erased, because sometimes life may just throw you a curveball and surprise you."_

And he wasn't kidding either. Back then I never thought that he was hiding so many secrets of his own. I never thought for a second that he could be talking about himself. I never thought that he could be one of those people who would sacrifice his own flesh and blood for his own self-preservation. Until now, I just thought that he was a man of integrity who battled through every obstacle that life could throw at him because he needed to go on. His family needed him to survive. But I guess I was wrong.

_I'm sitting on the deck in the back of my house. My mother is throwing one of her work parties and quite frankly I can't stand anyone in that room so I just came outside. I hear the back door open and I turn to see Dave standing there with concern lacing his features. _

"_What are you doing out here?"He asks._

"_Didn't want to be in there. I hate those people." I reply coldly._

"_You know, everything will work out with your parents." _

"_Guess you heard about the fight."_

"_I did." He says sitting in the chair beside me. _

"_Yeah…well…I don't want to talk about that."I say as I readjust my position in my chair._

"_What do you want to talk about?"_

_I think about it for a minute before I reply. _

"_Tell me about your daughter." I say quietly. "I mean I've known you for like eight years now and you barely ever talk about her."_

_A small smile comes across his face before he nods his head slightly and begins to talk._

"_You know, in some ways you remind me of her. She was a beautiful girl with the world in front of her. She just had a hard time seeing it sometimes and she got in with the wrong crowd."_

"_What happened?"I ask with sincerity in my voice._

"_There was a car accident. She was driving home from a party with one of her friends and a truck came out of nowhere and slammed into them. The injuries were so severe that she didn't even look like herself."He pauses and takes a deep breath before continuing. "After surgery she slipped into a coma and never woke up. My ex-wife and I were never able to get over it and we split up."_

"_I'm sorry. That must be so painful."_

"_Don't be. I believe that everything happens for a reason. We make our lives what they are and we deal with the hurdles. I wish I could have had more time with her, but I accept that her time was up." He says calmly before standing back up. "Besides, sometimes things aren't always what they seem. Sometimes, a wave of good comes out of the bad that has been thrown our way."_

_And as he walks back into the house I can't help but think that maybe Dave is fighting more demons than I thought. _

But by fighting demons I didn't think that it meant that he faked his death and sent his youngest daughter to jail. I didn't think that it meant that some elaborate murder scheme had taken place just to cover everyone's tracks. But he was right about one thing. Sometimes what we think we know is nothing more than a false reality because sometimes things aren't what they seem and if there is a situation that holds true to that statement, then this is that situation.

I look over to my mother who is still on the phone. I think that by now she's going for a personal best in the record department because I don't think I've ever seen her on the phone for this long. It's actually rather amusing. And it would be painstakingly funny if I didn't know that what was being talked about had to do with Spencer. They've painted themselves into a corner and now they need to find a way out of it. Good luck with that one.

My phone starts to ring in my pocket and look at the caller ID before answering. Oh thank God! It's Spencer and I don't know whether to be pissed that she waited so long to call me or relieved that she's ok.

"Where the hell have you been?" I say hurriedly into the phone.

"_Well, hello to you too lover."_ She says sarcastically.

"Not funny, Spence. I've been worried sick." I say relaxing a bit. "Mommy dearest has been on the phone for hours."

"_I bet."_ She says a little irritated.

"So tell me what's going on? What happened?" I ask.

"_I went to see Kyla and found out that everyone knew a month after my father supposedly died. Everyone who put me in this situation knew and they never thought twice about it."_

"Oh, Spence. I'm so sorry."

"_Don't be sorry, Ash. Just help me."_

"Whatever you need." I say as I notice that my mother has finally hung up the phone and is currently staring at me like I've suddenly grown a second head or something.

"_Will you come meet me?" _She asks hopefully. As if I would turn her down. Yeah right!

"Of course. Just tell me where you are."

Just then my mother walks out of the office and over to me.

"Ashley who is that?" My mother asks.

"Why? You suddenly taking an interest?" I ask and I hear Spencer laugh lightly on the other end of the phone.

Me and my mother enter a staring contest as Spencer continues.

"_Hey Ash, I'm at the point. Just meet me here and if your mother really wants to come bring her although I'm not necessarily in the best mood. And it might not be in her best interest." _

"No kidding." I reply. "Look…I'll be there in ten minutes, Spence." I say continuing to stare right at my mother. "And don't worry…I'm not in the best mood either."

"_Ok…babe. See you in ten."_

"Alright. Bye." I say before hanging up the phone.

My mother and I are still in some kind of bizarre staring contest. She is looking pointedly at me with anger, frustration and I'm pretty sure a small hint of pain is in her eyes. I chuckle softly, shake my head, and grab my keys off of the coffee table as I make my way toward the door to meet Spencer. My mother must have gotten some sense knocked into her because she decided to move from the spot that she was rooted to beside the counter. Just as I'm about to walk out the door, she grabs my arm and turns me around aggressively.

"You are not going to meet her." She says angrily.

"Oh yes I am, mother. And you can't stop me."

"Ashley you have no idea what's going on here!" She yells.

"I know more than you think I do mother." I say ripping my arms from her grasp. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere that I need to be."

I turn and walk out the door, hitting the car alarm on the key ring to deactivate the system. As I get in the car and shut the driver's side door, my mother jumps in the passenger's seat.

"I'm going with you." She states calmly before facing forward.

And I don't know about her but I wouldn't be calm about this at all. Spencer sounded so angry and defeated all at the same time and I know that seeing my mother isn't going to help one bit. So as I start the car and pull away to head to the point I can't help but think that if nothing else, this is going to be one hell of an interesting evening.


	42. Chapter 32: Confrontations

Here's the next chapter. Sorry it took me so long to post. I will try to get at least the next one up today if not more.

Hope you like it! Let me know what you think! enjoy!

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**Chapter 32: Confrontations**

**Spencer's POV**

After I left the hospital, I was so mad that I couldn't even think straight. I needed air. I needed to breathe again. My chest started constricting and I started shaking so much from the anger that being around people was not an option. I couldn't believe that they thought that there was nothing wrong with letting me think that my father was dead when he so obviously wasn't. What on earth would make that idea ok? I mean was I really that horrible of a child that everyone saw me as expendable. What the fuck did I ever do other than over hear a few conversations and witness some fucked up shit? None of it was by my hand and yet that's how everyone that I ever knew wanted it to be.

And that pisses me off more than anything else. Why? Because I cannot wrap my head around why they would do this to me. Who's brilliant idea was it to have them not fucking tell me about my father? Was it his? And if it was does that mean that he never wanted anything to do with me to begin with? Did he plan on turning his back on me and setting me up? Was the whole situation fixed to their advantage on the hopes that I would never find out? And why was the article printed if I wasn't meant to find out? Who dropped the papers off at the door and ran away? Why tell me now? Why not wait until they were out of cards to play or the shit was really hitting the fan? It just didn't make any sense.

And with each question that continues to fill my head the angrier I become. I mean I was basically sold out by my entire family and for what? A false sense of security that was promised to them but never given! It's insane! I mean what kind of man was my father because everything that I knew about him was obviously a lie. Was he the one behind all of this? Was the caring and concern that seemed to shower him just for show? I mean was the man that raised me really that kind of a monster? Did he ever really care about me? About any of us? Or was it just an act?

I needed to think. This new development put a serious wrench in things and changed everything in an instant. I needed a new plan and I needed to find out the answers to the hundreds of questions swarming my mind. But I needed to calm down first. If for no other reason than the fact that I needed to stay collected. I couldn't let this get to me in a big way because I would blow and that would ruin everything. I'm still going after this town, but now I have to be smarter about it then they are.

That is why I came to the one place in this town that has ever given me peace. The one place that I felt safe enough to let go. I could lose it here and no one would ever know because no one ever came up here unless they had a reason too and I'm pretty sure everyone is terrified about what I'm going to do.

"_Everyone knew about a month after it happened."_

And what did Kyla mean by that? Did the whole town know or was it only my family? Which really is a stupid question because I highly doubt that everyone in town knew. There aren't enough people here with enough brains to keep their mouths shut for ten years. But there had to be at least a couple people outside of my family that knew…Right? Ugh…I just don't know anymore. These people are obviously more vindictive and twisted than I originally thought so where does that leave me?

Well, right now it leaves me at the top of The Point contemplating my next move. Right now it leaves me unable to answer my phone the last twenty times it rang because I didn't want to flip out on Ashley. After all, it's not like she did anything wrong. This whole situation leaves me so filled with anger and hate that I'm not sure that right now any other emotion can enter my body. I mean I'm literally seeing red and I know it won't stop until I see the man that caused me to be like this. Him and his poor ass excuses are the entertainment I need to get back on track. I can never forgive him for this. I can never look at him the same way again. And the fact that Ashley knows him does hurt a little. But again it's not her fault.

That's why I called her back when I was a little calmer and asked her to come and meet me here. I knew she would come without a second thought and I'm almost willing to bet that her mother will show up as well. Granted I don't want to see that lady but if she's really as nervous about me as Ashley says then I know she won't let her come alone. I can only imagine what her mother is like and what she must be thinking. Obviously she knew or she wouldn't be here right now. The question is what the hell does she really have to do with all of this?

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**Ashley's POV**

All I'm concentrating on right now is getting to Spencer. I was so worried about her when I couldn't get a hold of her and even after talking to her the worry is still there. She sounded so deflated on the phone. As if someone had simply taken the life right out of her. And who can blame her for feeling the way that she does? These people are completely insane. And my mother is no better. Before she got on her cell phone she was trying to talk me out of coming to The Point. She wants nothing do with this and yet she's still here. Go figure.

But it pisses me off. This whole thing infuriates me so much that I just want to reach across the arm rest and punch her. How could she know about this and do nothing about it? Then again, if it isn't about my mother then she usually doesn't care anyway. She's probably the most selfish person I know so I don't know why it surprises me that she never said anything.

I finally pull off the side of the road and park the car in the gravel, quickly getting out to make my way up the short hill to The Point. I can hear my mother behind me telling me to slow down but the only thing on my mind is getting to Spencer as fast as I can. The only problem is that today the hundred foot climb seems to be taking forever. Almost as if I am moving in slow motion.

As I reach the top, I see Spencer standing about fifty feet away, with her arms folded across her chest and her back facing me as she looks out over the cliff. I walk over to her slowly and wrap my arms around her from behind. At first, she tenses up but after a second she realizes that it's me and relaxes in my arms as I place a soft kiss to the crook of her neck.

"Hi." I say quietly into her ear.

"Hey." She says pulling my arms tighter around her.

"Baby, talk to me. I was so worried about you."

She turns in my arms and looks straight into my eyes and maybe even my soul.

"I know. I'm sorry." She says quietly. "I just didn't want to take anything out on you. It wouldn't have been fair."

She puts her head down slightly and lets out a deep breath. I just wish there was something that I could do for her. I wish that I could take the pain away that I know she's feeling but refuses to show. I wish I could just erase this whole situation and make it better. But, I know I can't. All I can do is hold her and be here for her. Because I know that this is something that she wants to do on her own. Something that she needs to do if she is ever going to be able to move on with her life.

I lift her chin up and give her a small smile to reassure her that I'm here and not going anywhere before I lean in to place a gentle kiss on her lips. She wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me impossibly closer as she tries to get the contact that she desperately needs right now. And who am I to deny her that after everything that has happened?

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**Spencer's POV**

Ashley's grip tightens on me as I try to convey everything that I am feeling through this kiss. I know that she's worried and I will talk to her later about everything, but right now I just need to be close to her. I need to feel her lips on mine. I simply need her because right now she is the only thing that is keeping me from blowing a gasket.

After about a minute or so, I can hear the loose gravel at the top of the hill being kicked around and someone clears their throat. _It must be her mother._ I pull away and shift my eyes to the very unwelcome intrusion as Ashley sighs and begins to turn around, keeping a firm hold on my hand as she does.

As her mother slowly starts moving toward us, I can feel the blood in my body begin to boil. I don't even know this woman and yet somehow she played a part in everything that transpired. There is no way that she didn't know what was going on. There is no way that she just so happens to hate me when she has never even met me and because of that her sorry excuses or innocent act won't work on me. My grip on Ashley's hand gets tighter with each step that her mother takes and as she comes to a stop in front of us, Ashley squeezes my hand in an attempt to calm me down.

She knows that I'm angry and she knows that I have every right to be. But I'm not the only one. She has just as much right to be angry with her mother as I do. I mean obviously the woman has something to do with the whole situation otherwise she wouldn't be so angry with the fact that me and Ashley are me and Ashley. She wouldn't be trying to keep us apart and she wouldn't look like the devil was brewing inside of her. But I never did anything to this woman and yet she managed to hurt me just as much as my family. And it is taking everything that I have inside of me to fight the overwhelming urge to knock her out. I hear Ashley let out a deep breath before she begins to speak.

"Spencer this is my mother, Christine." She says with a hint of disgust in her voice. "And mom this is…"

"I know who she is." Christine says cutting her off. "And you don't need to be associating with people like her."

That brings a slight smile to my face because at this point she really has no idea what I'm capable of.

"I'm sorry. But are you under the impression that you know me?" I ask mockingly.

"I'm not under any impressions, Spencer. I do know you." She says moving closer. "You might not know me but I know you."

"I bet you do. I bet my father has told you all kinds of things about me." I say stepping into her personal space, causing her to take a step back.

Christine's eyes go wide as she quickly shifts her gaze to Ashley to see if there is any recognition in her features. But, in true Ashley fashion, she is acting as though she doesn't know anything which is perfect because it will open this whole thing up since Christine can't run away.

Ashley creases her forehead as if she is deep in thought. "I thought you said that your father was dead Spencer." She says looking back into my eyes.

I take my gaze away from Christine for a brief moment. "He was…or at least I thought he was. But it turns out that dear old dad has been working with your mother all along." I say with venom spewing from my mouth.

Ashley turns towards her mother, trying to keep her anger in check. "Is that true?"

If I didn't know any better I would think that Christine's eyes were about to pop right out of her head as she looks from me to Ashley with slight panic and anger lying deep behind them.

"No…it's not true. She's lying to you Ashley. Don't you see that?" She says shakily and a bit rushed.

"Am I?" I say glaring at her. "Why would I lie about something like that? Why would I lie about him being dead if I knew he wasn't? It doesn't make any sense Christine."

"Shut up, Spencer."

"Why?" I asked condescendingly. "Because you know I'm right."

"You don't know anything." She says through gritted teeth while taking a step closer and getting in my face.

"Then why don't you fill me in." I say bringing our faces inches apart.

I keep staring straight into Christine's eyes as the anger in both of us continues to brew. She knows that she needs to talk but she's stalling and I can't figure out why. Neither one of us is backing down because both of us have something to fight for in this. She has her reputation and I have my life that was stolen from me.

"Why can't you just let it go, Spencer? It was a long time ago. Grow up and get the fuck over it." She says angrily.

"I did grow up. And I won't get over it. In case you forgot I'm not the only one getting hurt with this." I say sternly. "At least not anymore."

"Spencer…I'm warning you. Do not go down this road."

I can see the blood rushing to her face as she's turning red. I feel Ashley grab my arm in an attempt to calm me down and if I wasn't so fucking pissed right now I might give Christine a second to calm down. But we all know that isn't going to happen.

"Warning me? Seriously Christine, what the fuck are you going to do about it?"

"Nothing." I hear a familiar voice say from behind us.

Me and Ashley turn around at the intrusion as Christine takes a slight step back to put a little distance between us. My eyes go wide at the sight of the man that I once thought loved me unconditionally. The man that I thought would always be there for me but, man, was I wrong.

I can feel the anger inside of me intensify as I stand there staring into my father's eyes. Our eyes locked as he tries to find some semblance of the Spencer that used to exist. But I won't give him that. He doesn't deserve it and somewhere inside of him he needs to know that. After all, he hung me out to dry without so much as a second thought. So why should I give him the privilege of seeing my good side?

After a few minutes, he starts to walk toward us and I take a step back. I don't even want to breathe the same air as this man right now let alone play catch up.

"Hello Spencer." He says coming to a stop right in front of me.

I don't say anything in return. I just stand there staring into his eyes, trying to figure out how I didn't figure out that he was involved all along. Trying to figure out how he could just walk away and return acting as if nothing had ever happened. But it did happen and this time he isn't going to be able to ignore it. I quickly look over at Ashley and realize that she is all tensed up. Her eyes going between me and my father trying to get some reaction from me.

But I'm like a piece of stone right now and I know she can't see anything. I have absolutely no emotion coming out of me and I imagine that I look a lot like I did the night that I came back into town.

"You can't say hello, Spencer?" My father asks.

"I have nothing to say to you." I say through gritted teeth. "I don't even want to be near you. You make me sick."

"Now Spencer, you don't mean that."

"Oh…I do mean it." I say angrily. "But if you want to talk you go right ahead. I would love to hear the poor ass excuses that you can come up with."

"Spencer you don't even know what you're talking about."

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" I say with hatred lining my voice. "I'm not fucking stupid." I yell. "You know what? Why don't you tell me why you sold me out to save your own ass. Why don't you tell me how the fuck it's ok for you to tell mom and Kyla that you're alive but conveniently leave me out of the fucking loop."

He takes a step towards me and reaches his hand out to grab my arm. But my anger is starting to take over.

"Don't fucking touch me!" I yell. "You are a fucking pathetic excuse for a father. What kind of man does this to his own flesh and blood and doesn't think twice about it! Did you honestly think that finding out that you were alive would make me happy? Did you think that it would erase all of the bad shit? Was this just another part of the plan to get me to back down? Because if it was then you're wasting your breath."

"Spencer, if you give me a minute I can explain."

I cross my arms over my chest, never braking eye contact with him.

"You have one minute." I say firmly. "You better make it good."

He tries to take a step towards me in an effort to gain some sort of closeness between a father and his daughter, but I take another step back to maintain my resolve. I refuse to let him get close. I mean look at what he did to me. What makes him think that he has any right to come within five feet of my personal space? He's gotta be kidding himself if he thinks that simply seeing him is going to turn me into daddy's little girl again because that part of me died a long time ago.

He stops his forward progress as he realizes that I am not playing games right now. I want no part of his need to suddenly be a father again. Realization must have set in on him that I am not taking any of his crap right now because he visibly sighs as he looks to Christine and Ashley before finally landing his gaze back on me. I raise one of my eyebrows and shift my body in annoyance as I try to urge him to hurry and get this over with. The one problem I'm going to have with this conversation is if he…

"Spencer." He starts. "First and foremost you need to know." _Don't even say it._ "that everything that I did was for your own good." _And he said it. I'm done._

Is he fucking kidding me! My own good! Everything was for my own good! Seriously! He must be on something because all I want is the truth and he starts out with this bullshit! I am so done!

"Unbelievable!" I say turning around to leave.

"Wa…wait!" he says as I start to walk away. "Spencer, please…just wait." _Is that desperation in his voice?_

I stop in my tracks for a second and take a deep breath in. This is not going to go well at all. So why do I stay? Well, because I really want to hear the sob story that I know is going to come flowing out of his mouth.

"Please." He tries again. _Definitely desperation._

I roll my eyes and turn around to face him, making sure that my features still resemble a stone sculpture.

"Fine…talk." I say angrily.

He nods his head and shifts on his feet before beginning to speak.

"Maybe that wasn't the best way to start off." _No…you think? _"I just needed to get that out there because I know that there is no acceptable reason for any of this." He says shakily. "But, Spencer, that doesn't mean it isn't true."

_Seriously…just get on with it already. It's not like I'm about to give you any sympathy._

"The whole situation is complicated and I'm sure that seeing me is the last thing that you thought you would ever do again." _Well…that's an understatement. _"The truth is that if I didn't leave they would've hurt you all, Spencer."

I visibly roll my eyes as Christine decides to rejoin our little group, standing next to the man that I used to call my father. A small smirk runs across my face as the irony of this situation sets in.

"That night." He continues. "I really was on the way to the police station to tell them everything. But on my way there my car got boxed in by the Mayor's men and they offered me a deal." _Oh…so I guess blackmail is involved. What fun! _"If I kept my mouth shut and disappeared then they would leave all of you alone. In my eyes there was no other option so I went along with their plan to fake my death."

"And you seriously expect me to believe that?" I ask incredulously.

"Spencer, this thing goes deeper than even you know." He pleads. "I left and never told anyone because I needed to keep my family safe." _Who in the hell is he trying to fool? _"I got out to LA and Christine offered me a job and we eventually became business partners." _I guess he's trying to fool himself. _"But, I never stopped checking up on you. I never stopped worrying about you."

_Ok…we'll play this his way for a minute._

"So you're telling me that you were never involved in any of it? You never played any sort of role? You just met Christine _after_ you faked your own death? And all of this is just a matter of circumstance?"

"Spencer, I have no reason to lie to you. What good would it do me now?" _Yeah…right. _"I would never sell you out, Spence." _Spence? Is he fucking serious? _"And I didn't tell your mom and Kyla about me being alive. They overheard a conversation that some of the Mayor's guys were having. That's how they found out, Spencer. I swear." He says desperately. _Too bad I know differently._

"Huh…" I say as I try to collect my thoughts. And here I thought that he couldn't be manipulative. Who the fuck is he kidding? Not lying! Right! Well, unfortunately for him I already know that he is lying. I mean hello…how would I not know already?

"Spencer I would never intentionally hurt you." He tries but I still give him no response.

He's lying through his fucking teeth and honestly I don't want to be within a hundred feet of him right now. I mean all he had to do was be honest and even that's turning out to be a fucking project.

I look over to Ashley and notice that she has her brow furrowed as she is deep in thought. I know she can feel my eyes on her because she looks up and locks her eyes with mine as we try to convey our thoughts to one another without actually speaking. After a minute or so I turn back towards Arthur and I chuckle lightly under my breath and shake my head. This man is truly a piece of work. Too bad I didn't see it before.

"Wow." I say looking straight into his eyes. "And I thought I was bad. But that takes the cake Arthur…Really." His eyebrows crease in confusion. "I mean I'm pretty sure that was the biggest load of bullshit I have ever heard. And it would have been believable if I didn't already know that you were lying."

"Spencer…" He tries but I cut him off.

"No…Now it's your turn to listen!" I say with my voice rising slightly.

Ashley places her hand on my forearm to try and calm me a little but even she needs to know that right now calming down is not an option.

"I just don't understand you but I realize that I never really knew you at all. You're not the man that I used to call my father and you never will be again." I pause as I move one step closer to him. "You see, Daddy, Kyla and mom knew that you were alive a month after you disappeared because you've been seeing them ever since. So there goes the 'you not telling them' theory you got going. And secondly I know for a fact that you've known Christine for at least thirteen years if not longer because you've been in business with her for at least that long. All those 'business trips' weren't for your job here, father. They were for your job there!" I yell as his eyes start to bug out of his head. "So why don't you try again when you get the fucking truth sorted out in that warped mind of yours!"

I turn and walk away leaving Christine and my father in stunned silence. I can only imagine what is going through Ashley's mind right now because she knows that he's lying and I honestly don't think he's ever shown her any sort of attempted manipulation. I'm not so sure that she knows what to think because the image that she has of my father was just ripped to shreds by the words he spoke. The only difference is that I don't care anymore because I am so fed up with the petty bullshit and lies from these people. But Ashley, never asked for any of this. She doesn't deserve it and neither did her friend. And I will find out what role my father and Christine play in all of this. I'm not who I used to be and my former father just made one of the biggest mistakes because now he's going to get the same treatment as everyone else. I won't back down and I will find out the truth if it is the last thing that I do. So next time he wants to spin some ridiculous story he better come prepared.


	43. Chapter 33 Part 1: Truth and Consequence

**Hey everyone! Sorry it's been almost a week since i've updated but I've been crazy busy at work! Anyway, here's part one of the next chapter.**

**Hope you like it. Let me know what you think! I love reading the comments you leave! **

**I will do some proper feedback on the reviews when I post the next chapter in a little bit. Enjoy!**

**Oh and I still don't own SON in case anyone was wondering. I'm simply using the characters to tell my story!**

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**Chapter 33 Part One: Truths and Consequences**

**Ashley's POV**

What the hell just happened? Is he completely insane? How could he just lie straight-faced to Spencer? I mean even he can't be that dumb to think that she would fall for the concerned parent story…right? Seriously….what the fuck was that about? I can't even begin to wrap my head around this. Arthur is definitely and evil clone of Dave. They are the same person with two very different personalities and it's scary to think that I actually trusted this man. I confided in him and all he ever did was lie to me. He made up some bullshit stories about his family and I believed him. He was there for me when he should have been there for Spencer and I can't help but feel a little guilty about it. I mean how could he see Kyla and Paula, but continue to leave Spencer in the dark when she went through so much for him?

No wonder Spencer was pissed off. Hell I'm mad and I don't have nearly the amount of reasons that Spencer does. Actually I'm surprised that Spencer didn't knock him out because if I was her I definitely would have. Just standing here in front of my mother and the man I know as Dave, makes me want to hit them for the bullshit. But really that wouldn't get me anywhere right now.

They completely forgot that I'm standing right here in front of them anyway, so it wouldn't be any fun if they didn't see it coming. But it is amusing how they looked like deformed creatures at the realization of Spencer's knowledge. Bet they didn't see that one coming…assholes! But why lie about it? I mean they had to know that somehow Spencer would be in the loop and yet they elected to lie instead of giving her the truth that she deserves. Besides that, lying makes no sense since I'm here to dispute the fact that my mother and Arthur have only known each other for ten years. I mean hello…I am the woman's daughter after all. There's just something not right about all of this. But what?

After a few minutes of staring at the pathway that Spencer walked away on, the realization that I'm still here seems to reenter their minds because their gazes move back to me. I stare at them with one eyebrow raised and determination laced throughout my features. If there is one thing I am going to do, it will be to make them talk. I want to know why they feel the need to keep lying. I mean seriously…at some point these people need to realize that lying isn't going to help anybody because Spencer is going to find out the truth. And I want to know what that truth is. I want to know what my mother has to do with this and how she even got involved considering she's lived on the other side of the country her entire life.

I see Arthur's face soften as he looks at me and I know that he is at a loss for words because…honestly…what can you say to someone when you've spent almost her whole life lying to her?

"Ash…" He starts but I put my hand up to make him stop.

I don't want to listen to him tell me he's sorry. I want some damn answers.

"Why'd you lie to her, Arthur?" I say with anger underlying my harsh tone.

"I didn't…"

"Stop…ok. Just stop!" I nearly yell. "I was standing right here and you lied. I want to know why! She doesn't deserve that."

"Ashley, it wasn't all lies." He says. "It's just complicated."

"Well…uncomplicated it then." I say matter-of-factly. "Because really it isn't that complicated. Everyone…and I mean that in the literal sense, present company included…has spent a better part of their lives lying to Spencer with the goal of setting her up and bringing her down." Arthur puts his head down as I continue to speak. "She went to jail for ten years for something that I know she could never do. My best friend died because of whatever the fuck is going here and you and my mother knew about it the whole time. SO I don't want to hear your bullshit stories and neither does Spencer. All she wanted was the truth and you owe her at least that."

As I finish my statement I realize that my mother is about to burst because she's never really been one to hold her tongue for so long and Arthur seems to be internally fighting some of his own demons. I mean at least a part of him needs to be the man that I have known for most of my life. He has to know that I'm right. Spencer deserves to know what's really going and so do I. The time for lying has come and gone. Right now he needs to man up and be the person that he claims to be.

After a few minutes he locks his gaze with mine and I can see so many emotions flow through them that I don't know which ones are real and which ones are for show. I mean do I really think that Arthur could be so maniacal as to throw his own daughter away like a piece of trash without a second thought? _Spencer does. _

"I don't even know where to begin." He says deflated.

"Well…start with how you know my mother." I say evenly. "I mean obviously you are both involved so let's start there."

Arthur looks over to my mother and she looks like she's about to have a heart attack. My guess is that I wasn't supposed to find out anything. _Wow…it took you this long to figure that out._ Oh shut up! I've never seen the woman squirm before. I mean she's always so in control and calm about nearly everything. Don't get me wrong she can be nasty but she's never been one to show her weaknesses. So this is actually entertaining for me on some level.

She is shaking her head at Arthur obviously not wanting him to go on and seriously my patience is wearing thin. I just want him to talk. I want to know what really happened and I want to know why it had to involve my best friend. I want to know why she had to be the one to get murdered that night. I want to know why everyone wanted to keep me from knowing. I mean did it really matter that much that they came up with this whole illness story? What's so wrong with me knowing the truth? Am I just another pawn in their twisted game?

_That's it! They're using me for something. _

As that realization dawns on me, whatever was remaining of the patience that I had quickly dissipated and anger started to replace it. After all, it would make sense if they were. Why else would my mother specifically send me here, especially knowing everything that's going on? It's the only thing that makes sense and it pisses me off that they think that they can just play me like that. Well, they can't.

_Two can play this game._

"Well…" I say with irritation lining my voice.

"Your mother grew up here." He says turning to face me. "We've all known each other since we were kids." He chances a look back at her before he continues. She's pinching the bridge of her nose just trying to keep it together. "Not everything I said was a lie, Ashley. The Mayor's men really did cut me off and tell me to leave before things got more complicated then they needed to be. But everything just got out of hand. It wasn't supposed to happen like this. None of this was supposed to happen."

"But Spencer got too close and you let them set her up. You let them kill my best friend and you let your own daughter take the fall when you knew she was innocent."

"No one let them do anything, Ashley." My mother says. "They just did it!"

"That kind of shit doesn't just happen mother!" I spit back through gritted teeth.

"Ashley." Arthur says desperately. "I didn't know that they were going to set her up. I honestly thought that they would leave her alone if I just left. I know I should've known better but I made a mistake." _A mistake? Seriously! _"Maybe I should've let her know that I was alive back then but everyone convinced me that it was in her best interest if I just left well enough alone. But after all of the stuff that's going on now, I just couldn't keep it that way."

"Why not? It's not like it was you that she was going after and honestly you're crazy if you think that just because you're miraculously alive she's going to stop whatever it is that she came here to do. These people ruined her life and quite frankly they all deserve what's coming to them…including the two of you."

"Hold on a minute Ashley." My mother says angrily. "Me and Arthur didn't do anything to ruin her life. We tried to save it."

"Because that worked out so fucking well." I say with a roll of my eyes. "I mean…really mom…what was the point in sending me here in the first place? You knew about all of this and you sent me here anyway. Seriously? What was the purpose?"

"You needed a change of scenery and I thought that you would like it. I thought that if I sent you to where Maryanne used to be then maybe you would find a way to go on with your life. Maybe you could finally get over losing your best friend. But I never thought that you would meet Spencer and fall in love with her, Ashley. I never thought you would find any of this out."

"So you were never going to tell me the truth?" I say pointedly. "That real nice of you, mom…real fucking nice."

A deafening silence falls between the three of us and all I can think about is Spencer and how pissed I am at my mother and Arthur for doing this. I can't believe that they are actually trying to justify their actions. Seriously? What the fuck are they thinking? I mean obviously they aren't thinking about the effect that their actions have had on Spencer. They aren't thinking about the fact that she's the one who got the shit end of the deal in all of this. Her and Maryanne were pawns in their sick and twisted games and all because they wanted to be able to keep up their fake ass appearances. No one did this to protect them. They did it to protect themselves and that is probably the most disgusting and hateful thing that anyone can do to another person, especially when that person is your own daughter.

_Seriously…I need to get the fuck out of here._

"Ashley…" Arthur tries but I cut him off.

"You know what? Save it. I don't want to hear anymore of this shit. You should be saying this to Spencer anyways. Not me."

"Ashley…don't do anything stupid." My mother says.

"Like what…kill someone and cover it up?" I spit back.

I shake my head and turn to leave but Arthur grabs my arm spinning me back around.

"Ashley…please take me to see Spencer."

"Find her yourself." I say before turning around and leaving the two of them standing there.

After practically sprinting to my car, I get in and start the engine with only one thing on my mind. Spencer. I need to see her. I need to make sure that somehow she is going to be ok. I need to tell her everything that I know. But most of all I just need to be near her because right now she is the only thing that makes sense to me.


	44. Chapter 33 Part 2: Let It Go

**Hey everyone! Here's part two of this chapter. Hope you like it. I know a lot of you are reading it so you know, if you have time drop a review and let me know what you think. I enjoy reading what you all have to say! Either way I hope everyone who is reading this is liking it so far! :) **

**imaferrari: Thank you! I'm glad you like it so much. I know its definitely not the typical Spashley story and I'm just glad that so many people are reading it. I just hope everyone's enjoying it. I'm glad that it is keeping people's interest because i know that it is a little bit all over the place with a Spashley love connection in the center. :) I also think I shocked a bunch of people with the Dave/Arthur revelation But I've always been a sucker for good suspence and a little mystery. :) I think it keeps things interesting. I hope you continue to enjoy what's to come because over the next bunch of chapters plans will be put into motion and everything will be revealed.**

**DontMindBnCrazy: I hear ya about work. My job has been keeping me insanely busy lately. It's defintitely not fun. :) Anyway, Spencer is definitely to a point where she is about snap but everyone will get what they deserve. Over the next few chapters as the story comes to a climax, all of the current quesitons will be answered in one way or another and I hope all of them are answered by the end of the story. **

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**Ch. 33 Part Two: Let It Go**

**Spencer's POV**

Fucking assholes! How is this okay? How the fuck can these people sleep at night? And what the hell is Arthur trying to prove by continuing to lie to me? It just doesn't make sense. I mean…honestly…if you're gonna fucking lie to me at least try and make it believable. God! The nerve that man has to come back into my life after lying to me for a friggen' decade! Then to give me some bullshit story that not even the most clueless person would believe? Seriously! Where's the logic in that?

_SMASH! _

There goes another glass broken. That man is making my blood boil. Hell, this whole damn town is making my blood boil.

_CRACK!_

FUCK! Bad idea! Now I'm fucking stuck! _Well…maybe you shouldn't hit the wall. Oh…shut up!_ I slide my hand out of the new hole that I created beside my television. It scrapes across the jagged edges as I pull it out slowly. _I just hope that was the wall that cracked and not my hand._ I get it out and I can feel it begin to swell. I don't think it's broken but it definitely hurts like a bitch.

I'm losing control and it's their fault. I swear that if I didn't have a conscience or any self-control whatsoever I would murder them all and gladly take the punishment handed out. Hell, they might even give me a damn medal for getting rid of the wastes of space that inhabit this town. I mean I deserve more than this. I deserve better than this. They all owe me the truth and it pisses me off because I know that I won't get it. And you know what? That's okay because if they thought that I was vindictive before, they haven't seen anything yet. I'm gonna make them regret the day that they crossed me. Fuck suing them! I'm gonna give them a taste of their own medicine and then I'm gonna crush them. Their fucking world is about to be turned upside down and I'm gonna love every minute of it! They're gonna go down. I'm done with being nice. I'm done with all of it. Those fuckers made me hurt my hand. They took everything from me and it took me forever to get myself back to a good place. I refuse to let them be the reason why I slip again. I simply refuse.

_RING!_

I'm brought out of my musings by my phone ringing. I make my way over to the coffee table and pick up my phone to see who's calling me.

_RING!_

I look at the caller ID and see Ashley's name flash across the screen, before I silence the ringer and throw the phone on the couch with my good hand. I can't answer her calls right now. For one thing I feel like my right hand is about to fall off from the pain and for another I'm too pissed off right now that it wouldn't be fair to her. She doesn't deserve my anger. She's the only one in this town that doesn't deserve it.

But I can only imagine what she's thinking. Hell…I can't even begin to imagine the kind of hurt she is going through. I mean I'm used to it. I'm used to the lies and disappointment so it doesn't mean much to me anymore. But Ashley never asked for this. She never even saw this coming until I came along and even though she doesn't talk about it I know it's killing her inside.

And that makes me even more pissed off. Ashley is another innocent pawn in this whole thing and she doesn't deserve it. It pisses me off that I can't protect her from all of this. It pisses me off that she had to lose so much because of the unrelenting selfishness of these fucking people. But…mark my words…I will make them pay. For what they're doing to both of us.

"Spencer, what the fuck happened?"

I turn quickly to see Taylor, Jacqui, and Big Joe standing in the doorway. _When the hell did they get here? _They slowly make their way into the living room looking around at all the broken glass. I didn't realize that I broke that much stuff. But as I look around I think that I'm going to be lucky if I have any glassware left. I go to move my right hand and I wince in pain, causing them to finally land their gazes on my hand. _Ok…so maybe it's a fracture. Or it could be broken after all. Honestly…could we at least try to think positive? _I clutch it to my chest and they look from me to the hole in the wall beside the television. _At least I didn't break that. _

"Spencer…" Taylor says carefully making her way towards me.

She knows how I am when I get like this. I worked so hard to never get like this again and it just kills me that all it takes is one bullshit story from a man I spent my life defending to get me to break it all down again. I look up into Taylor's eyes as she continues to come towards me. I see so many different emotions pass through her caring eyes and I know that she is trying to figure out what made me snap.

"What happened?" She says evenly as she comes to a stop in front of me and gently pulls my hand away from my chest.

"Nothing." I say indifferently and I see the irritation rise within her.

"Don't lie to me, Spencer." She says sternly. "I know you and it takes a lot for you to snap like this. You've worked so hard to regain control of your emotions and I know you wouldn't just throw it away over something mediocre. So, what the fuck happened?"

The front door slams open again and Ashley comes running in breathless. _Did she run up the stairs or something? I mean there's a reason we have elevators. _We all turn to look at her, Taylor's still holding my arm away from my body as Ashley hunches over trying to catch her breath. When she finally does look up she notices the state of the apartment and starts scanning the area. Looking at all the broken glass with confusion laced throughout her features until she sees the hole in the wall and her eyes go wide. She quickly snaps her gaze to me and then to my hand, that Taylor is trying to inspect without causing me anymore pain than is necessary.

"Spencer, what the…" She says as she starts walking towards me and Taylor. "Did you break everything you own?"

"No." I say evenly.

"Did you break your hand?" She asks quietly.

"No…" Taylor puts pressure on my hand and I wince in pain. "…I don't know." I say with a slight shrug of my shoulders.

I know that she can sense my change in demeanor and I think it might hurt her.

"Spencer!" Taylor yells making me snap my eyes back to hers. "What happened?"

"My father happened."

"Explain."

"After my little visit to the hospital, I went up to the quarries. I called Ashley and asked her to meet me there, and her mother insisted on coming. Anyway, my father ended up making his presence known, giving me some bullshit story about how all of this was for my own good, and lied to me about keeping contact with Kyla and my mom." I walk over to the kitchen to grab a bucket and make my way back to the living room. "I guess he thought his story would suddenly make everything ok. Long story short. I got pissed off and apparently this is the result."

I put the bucket on the floor and start picking up the glass with my left hand. I look back up at Taylor from my crouching position.

"He's not the man that he used to be. I don't even know this person. Right now he's nothing to me. Not anymore. He's no better than anyone else in this fucking place."

I throw some of the glass into the bucket and look over to Ashley who is pleading with me to calm down. She can see the anger running through my veins. I know she's pissed. I know she wants to talk. I know I owe her at least that, even if I am pissed off. And I'm gonna give her what she wants.

"So what are you gonna do?" Jacqui asks.

I look over to her, ripping my gaze from Ashley's.

"Get even." I say evenly. "But right now…I want to talk to Ashley. Alone." I stand up straight looking over to Ashley. "Everything else can wait until later."

Taylor looks from me to Ashley cautiously. I know that she's probably a little skeptical about leaving Ashley alone with me. And I can't say that I blame her or that I'm really all that angry with her because she knows that when I'm like this all rational thought typically goes out the window and all I see is red. I mean the last time I got like this was in jail and my cellmate ended up in the hospital for a month.

But she needs to know that I would ever hurt Ashley. She seems to have this uncanny ability to calm me down and that's what I need right now. Besides that I would hurt myself before I ever let myself hurt Ashley. Nevertheless, with my track record I would react the same way that Taylor is. I know she's just trying to help. I can see the worry in her eyes so I walk over to Ashley and take her hand.

"I promise I'm good, Taylor. Nothing to worry about." I say calmly while bringing Ashley's hand to my lips and placing a gentle kiss on the back of it.

Taylor seems to relax a little bit and simply nods her head as she goes to walk out the door. She stops just before exiting and turns back to me.

"We'll be back later. And then we're going to talk."

I nod my head letting her know that I understand. She turns on her heel and walks out the door, making sure to shut it behind her. Once the three of them are gone, Ashley drops my hand and begins picking up the glass in silence. She seems indifferent. Almost as if she can't find the right words to say in this moment. Almost as if she's become numb to the idea that this situation is spiraling out of control.

On top of that I'm not so sure that she knows what to make of my actions. I'm usually so calm and collected. At least that's all she's ever seen of me in these situations. I haven't let myself snap like this in a long time. So does that mean it was bound to happen? I thought I had it under control but I was so wrong and I seriously think that it hurts more to have her not being her normal self towards me than the shooting pain scorching through my right hand.

But I get that she needs some time to collect her thoughts. I know I'm not the only one that this situation affects. So, I simply continue watching her as she quietly moves around the living room picking up the pieces of broken glass. I realize that she hasn't looked at me once since everyone left. And I would be lying if I said that it didn't make me nervous. But I can understand her apprehension since this is a side of me that she has never seen. A side that I wish she never had to see.

I bend down to help her finish picking up the glass and I wince a little from the pain as my right hand drops and hits my knee. It seems movement in big proportions is not good for me right now. I reach down to pick up some glass with my good hand and Ashley slaps my hand away, causing me to look into her eyes. She is giving me a death glare that tells me that she's going to be even more pissed if I try to help her finish cleaning.

But she cares. The look in her eyes says that even though she's mad she isn't going anywhere. She won't run. She knows that I won't hurt her. And that is all I need as I stand back up and walk backwards towards the counter, giving her the space and time she needs.

About ten minutes later, Ashley is tying up the bag that she put the glass in and puts it by the door to be taken out. She starts walking over to me, looking over at the hole in the wall as she gets some ice out of the freezer and shaking her head slightly before coming to a stop directly in front of me and taking my right hand gently in her grasp. She places the ice on my swollen hand and exhales deeply.

"Ash…" I say softly.

"What was that, Spencer?" She says looking up into my eyes. "What is this? Because it's not you. You don't let people get to you like this. At least not since I've known you."

"I don't know." I say softly, while putting my head down. I don't want to see the disappointment in her eyes. "I guess I just snapped. I was so angry at him. At everything." She puts her index finger under my chin and lifts my head, bringing my gaze back to hers. "I still am."

She steps a little closer to me so that we are only inches away from each other and holds the ice to my hand.

"I never wanted you to see this side of me, Ashley. It's a side of me that I buried a long time ago. It used to be how I coped when I felt like I was losing control. I thought I had it under control. I thought I could deal better. But I was wrong. He made me feel like I was losing control and I just snapped."

I can see her taking everything that I am saying in and processing it. She is still holding my continuously swelling hand, trying to get the ice to stop the swelling. _You could probably fly with how big that thing is getting. Ugh…whatever. _

My heart is beating a million miles per hour as I stand there quietly waiting for her to speak. I hate this town for doing this. I hate my father and my family for being able to bring things back out of me that I have worked so hard to control. I hate it all because right now, all I can think about is how I'm gonna lose this amazing girl in front of me who I fall deeper in love with everyday. All I'm thinking is that one of these days it's gonna get to be too much for her and she's going to leave. And I know she says that she's not going anywhere, but really, how much can she really take? How much can I expect her to take? But the simple thought of her leaving terrifies me because she is the only real thing that I have in my life.

And here we are standing in silence. A deafening silence that could send chills through depths of any human being, with the tension that is currently surrounding us. I'd almost rather be fighting because this silence is killing me and at least if we're fighting then she's saying something back.

"Please say something Ashley." I say quietly. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I lost control. It won't happen again. Please…I just…I can't lose you."

"You're not going to lose me Spencer." She says evenly.

"But…I mean…if it's getting to be too much I'd understand. I can't expect you to turn your life upside down for me."

Ashley lets out a deep breath and reaches behind me to put the ice pack on the counter, before bringing her hands to my shoulders and locking our eyes once again.

"Spencer." She says wrapping her arms around my waist. "I couldn't leave you even if I tried. I love you too damn much and my heart belongs to you. All of me belongs to you." I put my head back down and she raises it up once again with her index finger. "I was just worried. I've never seen you act like this and it scared me. I don't want you to have to lose control because of these morons."

She places her forehead against mine and takes a deep breath.

"I need to tell you something, Spence. But you need to stay calm."

"Ok." I say shakily.

"Spencer…your father knew about the setup. Both him and my mother knew that the people who did this were setting you up to keep themselves out of trouble and they didn't do anything to stop it. Apparently my mother grew up here along with everybody else, including Maryanne's parents."

My body tenses and I know Ashley can sense it. I know she can feel me slipping and she's trying to bring me back down. I knew that my father knew about the setup. I mean he had to of known. But to scatter people in the hopes that no one would ever find out? That's a new low. Even for this town. And does this mean that Maryanne was at the wrong end of bet when they were deciding who it was that was going to have to be killed. Did her parents offer her up as a sacrificial lamb?

"Spence…" Ashley says softly.

I regain my composure before speaking again. Taking a minute to digest the information. It doesn't matter if I knew it already or not. What matters is that it was just irrevocably confirmed.

"I'm ok, Ash. I swear. I'm just angry."

"Ok." She says quietly.

After a few minutes Ashley loosens her grip and I pull away from her, creating some distance between us but making sure not to move too far. My hand is really hurting and I need to get the ice pack back on it. Before I get to it though, she snatches it up and gently takes my hand in hers while placing the ice back on the mountain that has become my hand.

"So, do you have a new plan?"

"I have a few ideas but it's going to take some major grunt work."

"How so?"

"Well, I'm going to make their nightmares a reality. Maybe even raise the dead. But in order to do that someone's got to get close enough to get them where I need them. I figured we could sort out the details when Taylor and them get back."

"Ok." She says pulling me close again. "So, what…that means that we have a little while to ourselves right?"

"Yes." I say quirking an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Oh no reason." She says as she leans forward and crashes our lips together.

There is nothing fast or needy about this kiss. It's as if she is trying to convey every unspoken word to me while showing me that she really is unlike everybody else. And I am doing the same. Both of us trying to convey our emotions amidst this sea of uncertainty and betrayal. I gently slide my left hand up her body and grab the back of her neck, pulling her in to deepen the kiss.

She tightens her grip and I gently place my right hand on her lower back keeping her in place. Needing this contact. God…I want her so much that it's literally killing me. Or at least I'm pretty sure that it will. Her fingers are tracing the skin on the small of my back, leaving goosebumps in their wake as her jean-clad knee comes into contact with my center causing me to dig my nails into her lower back and a shooting pain to fly up my right arm.

"FUCK!" I say pulling my hand back as she jumps a little.

Her eyes go wide as she realizes that I'm clutching my hand.

"Oh shit, Spence. I'm so sorry baby. I wasn't thinking."

"It's ok…Ash. It's not your fault. I probably shouldn't have put a hole in the wall."

"We should get you to the hospital." She says handing me the ice pack.

"No…I don't want to go there. I want to stay here. Bring you upstairs and show you what you mean to me. I want to finally be with you. No interruptions. Just us."

"And you will be. When we get back. I don't want to go either. I'd rather be finishing what I started but Spencer now is not the time to be stubborn. And you're going even if I have to drag you there myself."

I look at her with a raised eyebrow and I know that she's serious. I laugh lightly at the thought of a dominant Ashley.

"Fine." I say putting on a fake pout.

She gives me a cheesy smile and shakes her head, as she places a quick kiss on my cheek and practically drags me out the door and down to the car. I just want to have one peaceful night with her before all of this shit goes down. And if it kills me I am going to get it. I am going to show her how I feel as soon as we get back and then I will do what I need to do so that we can really be together. Just the two of us. Like it should be.


	45. Chapter 34: Tonight is for Us

**Hey Everyone! Sorry I've been MIA for the last couple of weeks. I've had some things to take care of and wasn't able to update. **

**So here's the next chapter and I hope you like it. I rewrote a bunch of it because...well...the first version was bad and I'm not so sure this is any better but it's better than the original...I think. I will leave that up to you all to decide. I will let you know that this is the second attempt at the first time that I have ever written NC-17. I usually just imply it because I'm not very good at writing it. :)**

**Anyway, this chapter is NC-17 because it contains some Spashley lovin'. So let me know what you think. **

**And I still don't own SON or anything related to it. Just using the characters to tell my story.**

_**imaferrari: I used to hit the wall...literally...but only if I got pissed off enough to snap. That doesn't happen anymore but I thought it would be a good way to show at least one extent that people will go to vent anger. I think Spencer understands that even though so many people have let her down, Ashley doesn't fall into that category. And its important to know that at least one person is always on your side no matter what. I'm glad that you are enjoying it so much and sorry for the long wait. Although it won't be that long anymore :)**_

_**DontMindBnCrazy: No worries on the late review. I like hearing what you have to say, along with everyone else. I'm glad that you are enjoying this so much and Yes there is Spashley loving on the way...well...in this chapter actually so you know... **_

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**Chapter 34 NC-17: Tonight is for Us **

**Spencer's POV**

Do you ever wonder how it's possible for people who aren't even around you to mess up your world and drive a wrench right through all of your plans? How it's possible for them to get so deep under your skin that you just want rip them to shreds? How people who you know don't really care about you, suddenly have some sort of twisted control over your actions? I'm wondering that right now as me and Ashley are driving back home from the hospital. I can't believe my fucking hand is broken. Yup…you heard me right. Broken! Go Figure! I can't believe I let them get the best of me. I can't believe that I let him get the best of me. I let my anger towards my father take over what was left of my rational thought process and I'm beyond pissed at myself for it.

I'm staring out the window watching the buildings pass by as my anger grows with every twist of my left hand over the cast. I guess this is just one more thing that needs to be dealt with. One more hurdle to overcome. I suppose I could find a way to use it to my advantage, but either way it sucks and it doesn't make me any less pissed off at myself. The only thing keeping me remotely calm right now is Ashley. I can feel her looking over at me every couple of seconds, trying to keep the smirk off her face that I know she is sporting. For some reason she is finding this whole situation slightly amusing. I mean seriously, I'm in a damn cast that goes halfway up my forearm and to add insult to injury the fucking thing is bright pink! Bright Pink! How the hell am I supposed to hide that! At least if it was white or black or something I could make it blend somehow…but fucking pink! Honestly, how the hell can I be all stealthy and stay in the shadows with a bright pink cast on my damn hand!

I let out a deep breath of frustration as Ashley reaches over and places her hand on my knee, effectively pulling me out of my musings to meet her gaze.

"Spence, stop thinking so hard. It's not that bad." She says trying to contain her laughter.

"It's bright pink Ashley." I say as though it's the most ridiculous color to ever hit the planet.

"It's cute." She says shrugging.

"Cute?" I say raising my eyebrow. "I don't care if it's cute. I want it off."

"And you can take it off." She says seriously and I get a little excited before she starts laughing. "You just got to wait four to six weeks."

"Gee…thanks Doc. Whatever would I do without you?" I say as sarcastically as I can.

"Come on, Spence. I don't mean to laugh but honestly, you're being ridiculous." She says as she starts rubbing circles on my thigh.

I let out a deep sigh as we pull up to the apartment building. "Let's just go upstairs please."

She nods her head as she parks the car and we get out, walking back into the building. We make it up to the apartment without running into anyone, and once the door is shut behind me I notice that it is extremely quiet. I figured Taylor, Jacqui and Joe would be back by now. Kind of makes me wonder what they're doing. Although they probably figured that I just needed some time to myself. Since I've been back, I've barely had a minute alone. There is always someone here talking about the latest information or scenario that they've come up with. It can get a little exhausting so I'm in no way going to complain about the quiet while I have it. Not to mention it's just more time that I get to spend with Ashley before everything goes down.

I sit on the back of the couch as Ashley is putting her bag on the counter and start playing with the top of the cast trying to push it down. This thing is seriously annoying. Maybe I can push it off. _Yeah right! _

"Spencer! Stop playing with that damn cast." Ashley says as she walks back over to me and slaps my hand away before wrapping her arms around me.

"It's annoying." I say slightly frustrated.

"You're annoying." She says with a smile while placing a quick kiss on my lips. "Stop being a baby. It's just a damn cast. Not the end of the world."

"Whatever." I say with a pout and wriggle out of her grasp so I can make my way upstairs. "I'm gonna go change."

I can hear her laughing under her breath as I reach the top of the stairs and head into my bedroom. I walk over to the bed and kick off my shoes, looking out the window. For a brief second I wonder where everyone is and what everyone is doing. I wonder if anyone has any humanity left in them and when they decided that being relentless monsters was more fulfilling than showing human emotion. I let out a slight laugh, shaking my head slightly as I draw the curtain closed and begin to take off my shirt when I feel a pair of arms wrap around me from behind and feel a trail of kisses being placed along my shoulder. I let out a content sigh as Ashley reaches the shell of my ear and bites down gently on the lobe, eliciting a moan from me.

"What are you doing?" I ask breathlessly.

"Taking your mind off of all the bullshit." She whispers in my ear.

I turn around and capture her lips in a much needed kiss while wrapping my arms around her neck to draw her impossibly closer as her hands wrap around my back, removing any space that may have still existed between us. She runs her tongue along my bottom lip, asking for entrance which I immediately grant and the second that our tongues touch a wave of desire washes over me. I need this. I need her. Because as long as she is by my side I know that everything will work out. I can be angry as hell and as long as Ashley is there to bring me down, I know that I can keep everything under control.

I pull away when the need for air becomes an issue and the only sound that can be heard is our jagged breaths. I look into her eyes and I see the same want and need reflected in them that I'm sure my own eyes are portraying to her. But, I haven't forgotten about the whole her laughing at me thing so I decide to have a little fun.

"I'm broken." I say softly into the room with a slight smirk on my face.

"Your hand is broken, Spencer. Not you." She says exasperated.

"Maybe but I still need that hand to perform…other functions." I say moving away from her slowly.

"You're impossible." She says matching my strides. "You do have another hand you know."

I back up into the wall, with Ashley placing her hands on the wall on either side of my head, pinning me against the wall, and moving one of her jean-clad legs between mine, as she melds our clothed bodies together.

"Besides, I'm sure that you can find ways around it." She says placing a trail of kisses up my jaw line before whispering into my ear. "Just use your imagination."

She bites down on my pulse point while bringing her knee into contact with my heated center and I can't help the flood of wetness that comes rushing out and the moan it elicits. I bring her face to mine and kiss her with everything that I have. I love this girl and I would never deny her anything. She knows she has me too, and I like it that way. Her hands slide around my waist and under my shirt as my one good hand gets tangled in brown locks.

I break out of the kiss and lay a trail of kisses from her jaw line to her pulse point where I suck and bite down hard, eliciting a sharp moan from Ashley before I soothe the spot with my tongue. God I love knowing that I'm the one making her feel this way. She pulls back and looks into my lust filled eyes before walking backwards towards the bed while keeping a firm hold on my hips. She turns us around and quickly removes any clothes that could stand in the way before lowering me down on the bed. I inch my way up to the top of the bed as she crawls towards me, capturing my lips with hers and to me, nothing has ever felt so right. She drags her hands up and down my sides before laying her body on top of mine, effectively igniting a fire within me.

The feel of her hands and her lips on my body is making me go insane. They're making me feel things that I haven't felt in a long time. She's making me feel things that I never thought I would ever feel again. And my heart just swells with more love for this beautiful woman and I want to make her feel what I feel. I want to make her see that this is as real for me as it is for her. I bring my left hand up between our bodies and start rolling her nipples between my fingers, making her moan into my mouth and sending another wave of heat coursing through my body.

She sits up, straddling me and runs her hands up and down my long torso, kneading my breasts and rolling my nipples between her fingers every time she makes her way back down my body. I decide that I can't take anymore and I sit up and latch my mouth onto one of her breasts carefully kneading the other one with my left hand, causing her to throw her head back as I bite down on her nipple and tug it lightly with my teeth, before circling it with my tongue. She moans loudly and right then and there I decide that her moaning is a sound that I will never get tired of. I can hear her breathing begin to become erratic as I switch sides and give the same amount of attention to her other breast.

"Spencer…" She cries out softly.

I tear my mouth away from her breasts, and capture her lips with my own as I move my hands to her hips. She starts to grind down into me and I can feel her wetness begin to seep out of her core, which is only making me wetter by the second. She puts her hands on my shoulders and pushes me back down onto the bed, without ever breaking from the kiss. She lays her body on top off mine and places one of her legs in between mine, causing her knee to come into contact with my aching center. We both moan into the kiss as our movements quicken, both of us needing to find release in each other, but neither of us wanting it to end too quickly.

Ashley pulls out of the kiss and begins kissing a trail down my jaw line while kneading my breasts in her hands. She rolls, pulls, and tweaks my nipples sending a flurry of feelings bursting inside of me and the only thing I know is that I need her inside of me right now.

"I need you, Ash." I say bringing her lips to mine again for a sloppy kiss. "I need you now."

"You have me, baby." She says quietly as she brings her hand down to cup my center and traces the outline of my walls, very aware of what it is that I'm needing and wanting her to do.

Her fingers tease my entrance so delicately before moving up to rub circles on my clit. "So wet…so beautiful." She says as she continues to suck on my pulse point.

"Ashley…" I say shakily. "Please…"

After my jagged plea she thrusts two fingers deep inside of my core and I arch up off the bed. Her thumb is rubbing circles on my clit and I have never felt so alive. I have never felt so good. She feels so good inside of me as she moves her fingers in a fluid motion, in and out curling her fingers at their peak to rub the spot that will bring me over the edge.

Unable to refrain from touching her anymore, my left hand slides down her body and I enter her with two fingers, using the pad of my hand to apply pressure to her clit. She gasps at the sudden intrusion before finding a rhythm that will bring us over the edge together. Our breaths are becoming more jagged as we pick up the pace moving faster within each other, needing to have the inevitable release that we've been wanting and needing for so long.

I can feel Ashley's walls tightening around my fingers as her movements become faster, keeping in time with my thrusts. Our heated moans filling the room as we bring each other closer to our peak. She places a sloppy kiss to my lips as all rational thought leaves our minds. In this moment, we are closer than we have ever been. In this moment we have an unbreakable connection that cannot be denied. We are showing each other everything and nothing at the same time. With one final thrust of our fingers and flick of our thumbs as we curl our fingers inside simultaneously, we are thrust over the edge as our intense orgasms run through us. Bringing us to a high that neither could have ever predicted.

As we ride out the final waves of pleasure coursing through our bodies, our breathing returns to a state of normalcy and we withdraw from one another. Ashley lifts herself off my body and pulls me close, into her body, making sure not to hurt my hand. Our bodies are covered in a sheen of sweat and I don't think that there are any words that could describe this moment in a justifiable way.

I feel my eyes getting heavy as I look into Ashley's beautiful eyes and lay a gentle kiss on her already swollen lips before putting my head in the crook of her neck and bringing her arms tighter around my body.

"I love you, Spencer." Ashley whispers softly as she holds onto me and places a light kiss to my temple.

A small smile graces my features as I place a kiss to her collar bone. "I love you too, Ashley." I say softly for only her to hear before we both drift off to a quiet, peaceful slumber.

I know that tomorrow will bring reality crashing back to us. Tomorrow will be a day for setting things in motion. But tonight I will lay here in the arms of the woman I love and not let the complexities of what lies ahead consume my thoughts. Because tonight is about the two of us and right now, that is the only thing that matters.


	46. Chapter 35: WakeUp Call

**OK...Here's the next chapter for you all! Hope you like it. **

**I will have one more chapter for you all in a little bit.**

**I still Don't Own SON...I'm just using the characters to tell my story! **

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**Chapter 35: Wake-up Call**

**Spencer's POV**

_SLAM!_

I'm woken up by the sound of the front door slamming downstairs. As I try to adjust my eyes, I can see the light of the morning sun trying to peek through the curtains. Ashley is laying half on top of me with her arm possessively wrapped around me. A smile makes its way on my face as I remember the events of last night.

I can hear heated voices downstairs and I pray that they don't wake Ashley. I look over to the clock on the nightstand and notice that it's only 8am. Who the hell slams doors at 8 in the damn morning? I may just have to kill whoever decided that it would be a good idea to interrupt the first peaceful nights' sleep that I've had in ten years. The voices downstairs begin to get louder and I can hear Taylor and Collin in a heated discussion.

"_I swear to God, Collin. If you wake up Spencer and Ashley I will hurt you myself."_

"_Ashley?" Collin says condescendingly. "What the hell is she doing here?"_

Ashley begins to stir in her sleep and I know that she's waking up. I strain my ears to hear the conversation downstairs making sure to remain still in Ashley's arms so I don't startle her.

"_That's none of your fucking business." Taylor replies almost threateningly. _

"_Besides…" Jacqui says. "I do believe that you owe us an explanation as to where you've been."_

"_I don't owe you shit!" Collin yells. "You're the ones that left me a hundred miles from this place. Let's just say it took some time to get back."_

"_Whatever, Collin." Jacqui says annoyed. "Go take a shower and get your ass back down here. You've got some groveling to do"_

I hear Collin bounding up the stairs and slam his bedroom door shut making a resounding echo throughout the hallway. Ashley opens her eyes and I turn my attention to her while pushing a strand of hair out of her face.

"Good morning." I say softly.

She stretches and then leans over to place a soft kiss on my lips.

"Mmm…good morning. What's going on out there?"

"Collin's back." I say with a smirk on my face.

"Ahh…that makes sense. Explains the commotion." She says sitting up.

There's a quiet knock at the door and I tell whoever it is to come in. Taylor and Jacqui slowly open the door and stand at the edge of the room, never fully coming in.

"Good morning ladies." Jacqui says.

"Morning." I reply sitting up. "What's going on?"

"Collin just got back. But I'm sure you heard that." Taylor says.

"Yeah."

"Well, Joe's downstairs. So get up and get dressed. We'll all go out to breakfast and figure out what to do about our little problem." Jacqui says winking at me.

I know she can't say anything out loud because Collin is a big part of the problem and I'm pretty sure that he can still hear what everyone is saying.

"Okay. We'll be down in twenty minutes." I say and Ashley nods signifying that she too will be ready.

"Okay." Taylor says closing the door as her and Jacqui make their way back downstairs.

Me and Ashley both get up and head into the bathroom that is connected to my room.

"Well this is going to be interesting." She says before putting the toothbrush in her mouth.

"You have no idea." I say placing a light kiss on her neck. "Come on. Let's get this party started." I say before slapping her ass and jumping in the shower with her following behind me seconds later.

Twenty minutes and a not so innocent shower later, me and Ashley are dressed and making our way downstairs to meet Taylor, Jacqui, Collin and Joe. Ashley is holding onto my good hand as I try to figure out how the hell I'm going to do shit with this damn cast on. Did I mention that I'm right handed, and that's what's pissing me off the most about this situation? No? Well I am and this blows. I have to wear a damn plastic bag over it in the shower. Let me just tell you how much fun that is! And now I have to figure out how to do shit with my left hand. Fun Times! No one told me that being ambidextrous was going to become a requirement in my plot to get even and shed light on this town for what it really is rather than what it pretends to be. But I digress.

As we're walking down the stairs Ashley gives my hand a reassuring squeeze and I see Collin glaring at us from his spot on the couch. I roll my eyes as I pull Ashley towards the chair and sit down, pulling her down onto my lap. I notice that everyone in the room, apart from Collin who is still glaring at me, is looking at my hand trying to contain the smiles that are threatening to break out on their faces. Taylor clears her throat before she speaks and I know they are never going to let me live this down.

"So…uh…I guess it's broken then?" Taylor says holding in her laughter.

"Uh…huh." I answer calmly.

"Well I think the pink suits you, Princess." Jacqui says chuckling softly.

"I bet you do."

"it..uh…adds character." Joe says. "Makes you almost more innocent."

And then Jacqui, Joe, and Taylor break, no longer being able to contain their laughter. I'm really glad that they're able to get a good laugh at my expense. I know that they know how unhappy I am about this latest development but in their defense I would probably be the same way if one of them was in this situation. I'm just pissed because it's me. But then again doesn't everyone get pissed when it's themselves that have to deal with ridiculous crap like this? Honestly?

"WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO THE DAMN WALL?" Collin yells after actually taking the time out from glaring at me to look around the apartment.

"I put a hole in it." I say indifferently. "Hence the broken hand, dumbass."

"Are you fucking kidding me, Spencer?" He says exasperated.

"Calm down, Collin." I say with annoyance lining my voice. "We're way past the 'What the fuck is wrong with you, Spencer' stage. So why don't you move onto the 'I'm gonna shut the fuck up stage' and do what you're supposed to do and quit whining."

"Oh…Fuck You, Spencer!" He says walking back over to me.

"You wish." I say standing up and coming face to face with him.

You could almost feel the hatred radiating off of him and I can say with a hundred percent certainty that the feeling is mutual. But if he thinks that I'm going to back down because of a broken hand, then he has another thing coming. I wouldn't give in to this asshole if my life depended on it. And depending on which side you want to argue I guess you could say that in some way it does. But as I glare into his eyes, none of that matters and right now I would love nothing more than to punch this fucker in the nose and add one more injury to his already pathetically beaten up body. It kind of makes me wish that I didn't put a hole in the wall with my fist because hitting him right now would almost be worth the risk of him finding out that we know he's playing us. Almost.

He takes a step closer and I can see Taylor and Jacqui move around to that back of him, which means that Joe and Ashley are still behind me. Collin's trying to intimidate me into moving back or shying away but I won't give him the satisfaction. You can see his face turning red from anger and I know that his blood is boiling. I know he would love nothing more than to lay me out but he's in worse shape than I am. The bruises lining his body, cuts on his face, and three broken fingers on his left hand, tell me all I need to know about what happened a few days ago and it brings a smirk to face causing him to move closer so that our faces are about an inch apart.

"You're a little bitch." He says through clenched teeth. "You think that everything revolves around you and one day someone is going to teach you a lesson. One day you won't be able to hide from your pathetic excuse for a life and I'm going to enjoy watching every fucking minute of it."

"Is that right?" I say matching his tone. "Well then…bring it on. Because you say a lot of shit Collin, but in reality you're just a scared little boy who…" _SMACK!_

I feel the sting of the slap before it registers in my head that Collin actually slapped me and pushed me back.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Taylor yells grabbing onto Collin. "Collin get your shit together and get the fuck over whatever your problem is because you are one wrong move away from finding out what really happens when you piss me off." She jerks his head around to face her. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal." He says through clenched teeth before Taylor turns her attention to me.

"And Spencer please stop antagonizing him…ok?"

"Ok." I say calmly.

"Good. Now let's go eat." Taylor says as she grabs her bag and heads towards the door with us in tow.

I grab Ashley's hand and give it a squeeze to reassure her that I am ok because as much as she tries to hide it I can still see the concern written all over her face and the last thing I want her to do is worry. I may have let my emotions get the best of me right then but Collin is in for the ride of his life and my resolve has never been stronger because this time this town is going to be putty in my hands. They just don't know it yet.


	47. Chapter 36 Part 1: Plotting & Breakfas

**OK Here's the last one for the night. Hope you enjoy!**

**Read and Review! :)**

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**Chapter 36 Part One: Plotting and Breakfast**

**Spencer's POV**

We're sitting in a big, round booth at the back of Annie's Diner in the town center. I'm sitting at the edge with Ashley to my left, then Joe, Collin, Taylor and Jacqui is on the other end. I guess Joe and Taylor figured that they needed to box Collin in so that he wouldn't lash out anymore. But I'm more concerned with the fact that Collin is even here at all considering we're technically not supposed to know him. But I trust Taylor so I figure there has to be a good reason for it.

I take a second to look around the diner while we're waiting for our food to arrive and I notice that it's a fairly slow day. We picked the booth away from people for obvious reasons but it still makes me wonder if everyone just decided to stay in because it's somehow better when you're able to shut out the stresses of the outside world when you're inside of your own homes. On some level it's kind of amusing but on another it's a little sad. Or maybe everyone is just trying to avoid me since my father made the front page of the paper the other day. Who knows? Either way it's not going to stop the inevitable downfall that this town faces.

I take a sip of my coffee as the waitress brings our food over and places the plates in front of us. I haven't had pancakes in forever so I'm kind of excited as I pour the syrup on top and attempt to cut them up with one hand. For some reason it's proving to be more difficult than it should be and that's probably because I'm not used to doing it with my left hand. It's frustrating and I'm getting annoyed even more because the pancakes are sliding around the plate. I let out a deep sigh of frustration as Ashley puts her right hand on my thigh and takes the fork out of my hand with her left. She smiles lightly at me as I relent and let her finish cutting them up for me. I feel so stupidly useless and I'm getting angry again because all this broken hand is doing is reminding me that I let my father get under my skin to the point where I snapped and that thought infuriates me even more.

Ashley finishes cutting up my pancakes and hands me back the fork, while placing a quick kiss on my cheek.

"Thank you." I say quietly.

"Anytime, baby." She says giving my thigh a squeeze before turning to her breakfast and starting in on her eggs.

I take a bite of my pancakes and savor the flavor that is coating my taste buds. I swear these are the best pancakes ever. But then again it has been like ten years since I've eaten pancakes if not a little longer so I feel as though I'm allowed to indulge in my childish side for a moment. I hear Taylor place her fork on her plate and I look up as she scans the table, sending me a slight smile before she turns her attention to Collin, who is eating with his head down. Now, on any other occasion I would think this is weird behavior for him, but with the way that he is stabbing his fork into his eggs, I suppose you could say that he's still pissed off about everything. And maybe I'm a bitch but I am finding this mildly amusing because I'm glad that he's pissed and I hope that his close proximity to Big Joe is making him at least mildly uncomfortable.

"Collin." Taylor says getting his attention.

"What?" He answers pointedly.

"After breakfast I want you to go to the hospital and check on Kyla and Aidan. You supposedly have no ties to us and I want it to remain that way. I want to know everything that's going on with their conditions and something tells me that they know you enough to at least slightly trust you since you've been here for so long."

"That's…uhh…great and all but don't you think the no ties thing is out the window considering I'm eating here with you guys and all?" He asks sarcastically.

"No actually…I don't." Taylor says sternly. "If anyone asks you tell them that we found out about you leaking the story and wanted to talk. Nothing more. Nothing less. Understood?"

He takes a second before he responds to gauge Taylor's demeanor. "Understood." Collin relents.

"Good." Taylor says before picking up her fork to finish eating.

I hear the bell over the front door of the diner ring and I look up to see Sheriff Whitely walking through the door. He scans the room quickly before walking over to the counter and ordering a coffee. Once he has the coffee in his hand, he turns towards us and our eyes lock. I haven't seen him since the hospital and I really don't want to see him now. There is so much hatred, anger, and resentment flowing through my body because of the fact that he was no better than everyone who lied to me all these years about my father and I would love nothing more than to put him in his place as well. I want to know why they did it? I want to know what makes people lose so much of humanity that it suddenly becomes okay to keep something this detrimental from the one person who ended up suffering from it the most. And the truth is that there is nothing that anyone can say. There is no acceptable reason or scenario that could even begin to rectify the situation that is so blatantly at hand. And it makes me wonder if this was how it was supposed to be from the start.

After a few minutes, Sheriff Whitely pinches the bridge of his nose and begins walking over to our table. His eyes never leaving mine as I reach for my cup of coffee and take a sip, refusing to back down from this apparent staring contest. I see Taylor turn out of the corner of my eye to see what I am looking at as Sheriff Whitely takes his final stride and stops beside me. I know that he is trying to read me. Trying to figure out what's going on in my head. Trying to see if there is any semblance of the Spencer that he knew still residing within the confines of my heart. But he won't see it because I won't let him. He's crazy if he thinks that he's going to get anything out of me. After all, he already knows that I'm pissed and as far as I'm concerned that is all he needs to know.

After about a minute or so he looks to the other people sitting with me at the table and his eyebrows raise as his stare comes to a rest on Collin. I see him scan over the bruises, cuts, and broken fingers left on Collin's body and his brow furrows as he tries to figure out something that he is never going to get.

"What happened to you?" He says stiffly.

"Bar fight." Collin answers plainly.

Everyone is now looking between Collin and Sheriff Whitely. Waiting for Collin to say something. Anything that might fuck everything up….Again. But he doesn't and I know the Sheriff isn't buying his story. Hell, I wouldn't buy his story even if I didn't know what really happened and I know that the Sheriff knows that something isn't adding up.

"Is that right?" The Sheriff asks as if he is testing him.

"Yeah." Collin states firmly, while meeting his gaze.

Sheriff Whitely nods his head and motions with his free hand to everyone sitting at the table before focusing back on Collin.

"So what's this about?" He asks sternly. "I mean I never thought I would see you hanging out with this group."

Collin takes a deep breath, finishes off his coffee and looks back up at the Sheriff with a hint of determination in his eyes.

"Yeah…well…they found out that I leaked the story to the national press." He pauses and glances quickly at all of us. "And they wanted to know why I did it. Hence breakfast. But I was just leaving because I have somewhere that I need to be. So if you'll excuse me…"

Collin motions with his hand and Taylor and Jacqui get up to let him out of the booth. Once the girls sit back down Collin nods his head towards us before turning to Sheriff Whitely.

"Sheriff, I will see you later." He says before turning to walk toward the door of the diner.

Sheriff Whitely watches Collin walk out of the diner as we all continue eating as if nothing has happened. I notice that his brow is furrowed as though he is deep thought, which really wouldn't be too far of a stretch. I know he's trying to work everything out in his head. He's trying to solve a mystery that is really not meant to be solved by him. A mystery that he couldn't even begin to understand. And in some sick way this is beyond entertaining for me as he looks from us, to the door, and then back to us. He's searching for answers that he isn't going to get because he doesn't deserve them. And surely he needs to know that at some point all of his questions will be answered but he no longer has the privilege of knowing things first. He will remain in the dark until everything comes to light and, for me that is so much more gratifying than any crazy theory that he could possibly come up with.

Eventually, he seems to come out of his musings and looks down, spotting the cast on my right hand for the first time and I instantly know what he is thinking. It makes me smirk a little but if I had gotten to actually get my hands on Collin he would most likely be in worse shape than he is now. I would have taken all kinds of aggression out on that rat bastard and wouldn't have thought twice about it.

After another minute or so, Sheriff Whitely shifts so that his body is directly angled towards mine. I bring my gaze up to meet his with my eyebrow raised because he is the last person that I want to converse with right now but something tells me that this pathetic conversation is inevitable so I will oblige this one time.

"What happened to your hand?" He asks tentatively.

I lift my right hand up and look at it for second before looking back into his eyes.

"I punched a hole in the wall at home." I say simply.

"Uh…huh." He says almost disbelievingly and I wish he would just ask already because this is just sad. "Sure you didn't lay out a few on Collin while you were at it?" He challenges.

"I'm sure. It's not my style." I say shrugging slightly and leaning back in the chair with a smirk planted on my face. "Besides if I had hit him he would be in far worse condition then he is now. Trust me."

I hear Taylor laugh under her breath as the Sheriff nods his head tentatively with some concern.

"I see." He responds plainly, while looking at everyone around the table and the smirks they are currently sporting. "Uhh…Do you think I could speak to you outside for a minute, Spencer?"

"I've got nothing to say to you." I say sternly.

"It'll just be a second." He says placing his hand on my shoulder. "There's something I think you should know."

"Well my dad being alive is already out of the bag so…"

"Spencer." He says pointedly, cutting me off.

I roll my eyes and then look to everyone at the table. I know they can sense the slight anger in me but I nod slightly to let them know that I have everything under control. I look back up at the Sheriff and release a calming breath that I didn't realize I had been holding.

"Fine." I say standing up and motioning for him to lead the way outside.

I follow him out of the diner and I can feel everyone's eyes on me as we come to a stop on the sidewalk just outside and he turns towards me. I cross my arms over my chest while locking my gaze with his. I know he can sense the anger rising in me as he takes a sip of his coffee, and with each passing second I am getting more agitated while I stand there waiting for him to talk. I refuse to be the one to start this conversation and I know he is well aware of that as I hear him release a shaky breath before he begins.

"Your father came by the station today." He starts tentatively.

"And I care why?" I respond. The agitation clearly lacing my voice.

"He said he wants to explain the situation." He says tentatively as I roll my eyes. "He also said that he felt horrible and needed to find a way to fix this."

"He had his chance to explain and he blatantly lied to my face." I said with venom lacing my voice. "I hope he does feel horrible. He should. He knew what was going on and he left me to take the fall. So you'll excuse me if I don't give a shit about what he wants to do."

"I understand that Spencer. But I think that you might want to hear what he has to say. I think that you need to hear it." He says with sincerity in his voice.

"I don't care. I don't care what you or anyone else thinks. I don't care what he has to say. I don't care about any of it." I say stepping closer to him. "The fact is that there isn't any explanation that is going to make this okay. Nothing!"

I glare into his eyes and I know that he can see the anger streaming out of mine as he sighs dejectedly, shaking his head. I scoff slightly and turn around to walk back into the diner. Everyone at my table is staring at me, trying to figure out what was said outside and gauge my reaction to it all. And that is the last thing that I want to think about. Just the mention of my father seems to make my blood boil and their questioning eyes aren't helping at all. I know that they can tell how irrevocably pissed off I am and as far as I'm concerned, I have more than earned that right.

I mean what makes Sheriff Whitely think that he is any position to request anything of me? He kept this secret too and in my opinion that makes him just as guilty as everyone else. Oh sure, they may be pretending to be on my side but if they were then this wouldn't have been kept from me in the first place. It almost makes me wonder what exactly my expectations were. Did I honestly think that they were trying to help me? Did I honestly think that maybe…just maybe they were starting to care again? I mean genuinely care? And the only answer that I can come up with is that maybe I wanted those notions to be true but in reality I have always known that things would never be that way again.

I take my seat next to Ashley and lock my eyes on Taylor. I can feel everyone else's boring holes into the side and front of my head but at this point I know that Taylor is the only one who will challenge me to talk and I'm almost daring her to do so. Understand that I am not mad at Taylor or anyone else sitting here but this is something that I don't want to think about and I know that I will have to eventually but right now, I just want to forget about the man that I've been defending for ten years. I want to forget about him just as easily as he forgot about me. If I'm that expendable then so is he.

"Spencer…" Taylor says softly trying to rouse me from my musings as I look out the window to see the reason behind my suddenly intense anger.

Standing across the street is my father trying to look sympathetic and apologetic all at the same time. He's got a sadness in his eyes that would almost make me cry if he didn't hurt me so bad. But I won't return that sadness because he doesn't deserve it. Not after everything that's happened. The more I think about it, the angrier I get and my left hand balls into a fist on the table simply because of his mere presence across the street from the diner.

"Spencer…" Taylor tries again but I'm just blatantly ignoring her now.

Ashley wraps her hand over my fist and I move my gaze to meet hers. She looks scared and nervous at the same time and I know that all she is doing is trying to calm me down. I know that she looked out the window and saw my father and therefore knows why I am so angry all of a sudden. And her eyes are trying to tell me that it will all work out. She is trying to tell me that everyone involved will deal with the consequences of their actions. But more importantly she is trying to tell me that nothing else matters because no matter what she is always going to be there. She will always be on my side and I'm not sure I can find an appropriate way to express to her just how much that means to me.

I take a deep breath to calm myself down and take a quick look out the window to see my father walking over towards the diner with Christine right behind him. I tense and I know Ashley can feel it. I know that everyone is concerned with what is happening right now. And I know that when my father walks through that door, whatever is going to happen is not going to end well.


	48. Chapter 36 Part 2: Reunion?

**So here's the next part of the Chapter. Because this chapter is insanely long because of its importance, there will be one more part to Chapter 36 that I will aim to have posted this weekend. I have a busy couple days coming up so I don't know if I will be able to get it up sooner than that. **

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy and I will do some feedback on the reviews whe I post the last part of this chapter.**

**Enjoy! Let me know what you think! :)**

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**Chapter 36 Part 2: Who Ordered The Reunion?**

**Spencer's POV**

As my father walks into the diner with Christine following closely behind, Ashley pries my left hand open and intertwines her fingers with mine in an attempt to keep me grounded. But as much as I love the fact that she is trying to stop me from exploding, I know that there is no way that this inevitable interaction is going to end well. From the outside looking in, it is like watching the conversion of the perfect storm. A disaster waiting to happen. Past lies and misconceptions are about to collide violently with present truths and uncertainties and there is nothing that anyone can do to stop it.

I spent years defending the man walking towards me only to find out that he was a part of everything. I spent years blaming myself for his death, and my family spent years feeding into it saying that my actions are what led to his untimely demise. And then I find out that he isn't really dead and every lie that has unconsciously been told by my family and everyone else that knew is squashed in a matter of seconds. I find out that everyone played me for a fool and because I was so wrapped up in a world of what ifs, I was never able to see the lie that lay right under their seemingly hard exteriors. They betrayed me in one of the worst ways but as much as that hurts to know, nothing compares to the betrayal that I am feeling as result of my father.

With each step that he takes towards us, my anger continues to grow inside of me and as I watch him walk tentatively towards my table I can't help but wonder what the hell he is thinking. Why would he want to do this in such a public place? Does it make him feel safer somehow? Does he think that I won't yell at him? Does he think that by coming up to me in front of other townspeople, that this conversation would somehow be more civilized compared to how it would go in a private setting? Because either way my anger is still going to be there and with every step he takes I can feel my blood pressure rising that much higher. So unless he pulls a miracle out of his ass there is no way that this conversation is going to be anywhere in the vicinity of civil.

Ashley's grip on my hand tightens and out of the corner of my eye, I see Joe sit up with a scowl on his face. And then all of the mindless chatter going on from the other patrons in the diner seems to come to a stop at the exact moment that my father comes to a stop beside Jacqui and the tension builds. It is so ridiculously quiet as I glare into my father's eyes that you could hear a pin drop and suddenly our staring contest has become a half assed battle of wits.

After a few seconds I raise my brow challenging him to push me over the edge. I want him to tell me some bullshit story about how he's sorry and how he never meant to hurt me like this. I want him to tell me that he never thought that things would turn out this way. But then I remember that he already fed me his bullshit story and if anything else like that was to come out of his mouth right now I would most like strangle him after I beat him to a pulp.

And as I continue to stare into his eyes I briefly wonder if he ever really cared about me at all. Was I really that expendable? Did he know that this was all going to happen to me when I got old enough to actually shoulder the blame of the shady practices this town was built off of? But more importantly do I really care about the reasons why? Because after everything that has happened there is nothing that can be said that would make this situation even remotely acceptable. And as I look at the man standing before me I realize that he is only the shell of a man that I used to know or in the very least thought I knew because right now I don't really care enough to look past that.

After a minute or so he visibly swallows hard and breaks eye contact with me momentarily while letting out a shaky breath.

"Spencer." He starts shakily. "I know you don't want hear this but I'm sorry." He says with a small hint of conviction in his voice.

I just roll my eyes and continue to look into his, making sure that all he can see is a brick wall and a blank expression. I know that he's waiting for me to say something but I won't. At least not until I hear whatever pathetic story he has come up with this time, or I feel compelled to do so.

"You were right." He continues while letting out an exasperated sigh. "I shouldn't have lied to you and honestly, I don't know why I did. You were always a smart girl and I should have known that you would have known at least a little bit about what's been going on. But I was stupid."

He pauses for a minute while he is clearly trying to sort the words out in his head. After all, he wouldn't want to screw this up any more than it already is…right? He scans the table quickly before returning his gaze to meet mine.

"There were so many times that I wanted to tell you." He continues softly. "But they convinced me that it would be better for you if I just waited until everything was sorted out." _I bet they did. But you should have known better. _"I knew better but I went along with them anyway." _So what was it? Peer Pressure? _"And the fact of the matter is that I never should have listened to them."

He takes a step forward and stops as I lean back in my seat in an effort to maintain the space between us. I really don't want him to get too close but if this isn't the most interesting groveling scene ever, I don't know what is. He's apologizing for lying to me and somewhat for putting me through all of this and although he is trying to be sincere, I can tell by the look in his eyes that he has some kind of ulterior motive. What I don't know is whether or not that motive is good or bad in regards to me. I mean if there is one thing that I have learned it is that you can't be too quick to trust anyone because if you are then you unwittingly open the door for them to crush you and I've had enough crushing in my life to last a lifetime.

"I can't change the past, Spencer. But I can at least try to make it right. I…I've made a lot of mistakes…" He says moving his eyes quickly over to meet Ashley's before turning his attention back to me. "…with a lot of people. But I made the biggest mistake with you and if nothing else, I at least owe you the truth."

And now my mind is going a mile a minute. The truth? Really? Now what truth would that be exactly? The one where you faked your own death to save your own ass? Or how about the one where you and everyone else hung me out to dry? Or what about my personal favorite, the one where you weren't even man enough to stand up to them and tell them to fuck off? I don't know maybe that was asking too much. Maybe my father was nothing more than a scared, pathetic man who couldn't do anything for himself. Because right now that's the way he's looking. I mean once you become an adult peer pressure goes out the window. My father was never stupid so for him to act like this was an honest mistake isn't really giving him brownie points right now.

"I see." I say coldly. "And what truth might that be today because I am just dying to find out." I say with obvious sarcasm laced throughout my voice.

"You don't have to be a jerk, Spencer." Christine pipes up from behind my father and a smirk crosses my face. "He's trying to explain it to you calmly and you can't even give him the respect to do it without making some sort of smartass comment."

"I'm sorry, Christine." I say condescendingly. "I didn't realize that I was talking to you because last time I checked this was none of your fucking business. This is between me and the man that used to be my father."

"That's out of line, Spencer. You have no right to talk to your father that way…"

"I don't?" I say standing up and cutting her off.

"Being a bitch isn't going to solve anything." She says angrily. "You should be grateful that he's even talking to you. You're nothing special Spencer. You're not…"

"That's enough!" Ashley yells while glaring at her mother. "You need to shut up and mind you're fucking business mother. You're not so innocent in this whole thing either and you don't even know Spencer. She's earned the right to be pissed off and…"

"Ash." I say softly, getting her attention. "It's ok." I turn back towards Christine whose eyes are now wide with shock. "Let her say what she wants because all she's trying to do is rid herself of the guilt that she feels for knowing that your best friend was going to be murdered and doing nothing about it."

"You little…" Christine says stepping towards me only to be stopped by my father's hand on her shoulder and Joe standing up.

"I wouldn't do that, Christine." Joe says forcefully staring into Christine's eyes. "Now I believe she was having a conversation with Arthur here. So why don't you do us all a favor and put a muzzle on it before I do it for you."

Christine looks at him with wide eyes before taking a tentative step back behind my father. Her eyes are shifting between me and Joe and if I wasn't so irritated I might laugh at this situation. She doesn't have a leg to stand on right now and she is way out of her league. As much as she thinks that she knows me, she really doesn't. And I don't know what's more amusing, the fact that her world is falling apart right in front of her or the fact that she looks terrified by the mere sight of Joe. Maybe she should have stayed in California. At least that way she wouldn't have been on my radar, but now that I know that she played some sort of role in this she is on my radar in a big way. And not just because she hurt me but because she hurt Ashley too.

I feel a gentle hand on my forearm and I tear my eyes away from Christine and my father to lock my gaze with Ashley's. I know that she is worried and is just trying to avoid a situation like the previous one which resulted in my broken hand. But, I'm trying to tell her through my eyes that everything will be ok because I'm not about to lose my cool like that again. He is simply not worth it and he never will be.

After about a minute or so she nods slightly in understanding and I know she received my message to her loud and clear without a single word being spoken. She releases her soft grip on my arm and I give her a slight smile as Joe places a hand on her shoulder to let her know that everything will be fine. He is telling her that he isn't going to let things get that far out of control and I love him for reassuring her like that when he's only known her for such a short period of time. I notice that she relaxes slightly as his gesture seems to comfort her a little and that, in turn, comforts me as I turn back towards my father and Christine.

"So..." I say sternly. "Before we were so rudely interrupted by Christine here, I believe that you were saying something about owing me the truth." I look at him pointedly as he nods his head in agreement. "Well…" I say folding my arms across my chest. "I'm waiting."

"I don't even know where to start." He says quietly, taking a deep breath. "Everything got so complicated so fast and you were getting too close. So, I guess you could say that I made a deal with the devil."

He releases a shaky breath as I continue to stare directly into his eyes. I can see Ashley, Joe, Jacqui, and Taylor looking at him expectantly out of the corner of my eye and I wonder briefly if he is the least bit uncomfortable at all the sudden attention. Everyone in the diner is so eerily quiet that if I couldn't physically see them all scattered around then I wouldn't believe they were actually there. Sheriff Whitely came back in a few minutes ago and I find it mildly amusing how he is just standing by the door waiting for all hell to break loose. Maybe they all are since they're still hanging around. Maybe they're waiting for something else. Maybe some of them need clarity of their own. Who knows? Right now I don't really care but it doesn't mean I won't have some internal fun at the pure uncertainty so visibly flowing through each and every one of them right now.

My father clears his throat a little before he begins to speak again and I put my focus back on him and what he has to say.

"When you first came to me that night and told me about what you saw and overheard in the tavern, about the blackmail and the extortion, I didn't know what to say. The truth is that I had known about all of it way before then because for the longest time that is how this town operated. It was a way of life. I grew up with my parents knowing and even partaking, as did all of us, and as kids we just accepted things as they were. It was wrong but there were so many unspoken rules Spencer that even the slightest mistake would lead to the end of one thing or another. But then you came along and figured it all out. You wouldn't let it go because you couldn't stand to see innocent people get hurt and I knew that if I didn't do something then you would end up getting yourself hurt."

So, they killed people for sport then? Someone new finds out and…bam….they're either dead or thrown to the side like yesterday's garbage and made out to be crazy? Just like that? Seriously? And am I supposed to believe that he did this to protect my honor because last time I checked I still spent ten fucking years in prison because of all of this shit! All of this shit that he apparently had full knowledge of and didn't care to tell me that in the first place. No…instead he went around acting like he was surprised and didn't have a clue. So what exactly am I supposed to believe and how did it end up the way that it did. Because, honestly, this still makes about as much sense as a jackrabbit on speed.

"So, what does that mean exactly? How does this lead to me being in prison? If you were doing something to 'protect me'…" I say, deciding to play his little game. "Then how did all of this happen?"

"You were never supposed to find out, Spencer." He says tiredly. "No one outside of the circle was supposed to know about the extortion and the blackmail and the murders and everything else. But then you found out, and when you threatened to go to the police and turn them in, after Mr. Thompson turned up dead, it set off a chain reaction of events that led us to where we are today." He looks over and scans the table before turning his attention back to me. "Although sometimes things don't go the way that you're expecting them too and things change, kinda like hitting a roadblock."

_What the fuck is he talking about? Sometimes things don't go the way that you're expecting them too? Seriously? What the hell is that bullshit? _

I see him look back over to the table.

I look at Christine who conveniently is avoiding all eye contact.

Then I look at my father and match his gaze as he turns back from the table.

And then it hits me like a ton of bricks and I can't believe I didn't see it before.

I'm the roadblock...

…and Ashley is the thing gone wrong.


	49. Chapter 36 Part 3: What It's All About

**Ok Everyone here's the 3rd and final part of Chapter 36. Hopefully this sheds some light on everything. But if you have questions let me know and I will do my best to answer them with my next post. :) But first a little feedback on the reviews.**

**_imaferrari:_ Sorry for all the cliffhangers. I think at this point it's become a habit :) Hopefully this chapter explains a lot but the next chapter will shed some light on what they did to get Spencer convicted. So you won't have to wait long for those answers. :) As for the Sheriff is just letting Spencer have her moment for now. At least that's what I'm gonna chalk it up to. But don't worry...everyone is going to get theirs, including Collin, and it starts with this chapter. **

**_degrassi1son: _I'm glad that you like the story. I always love to read what everyone thinks and I'm just glad that I'm holding people's attention. Yes Spencer left Ashley like that but more so because she needed to remove herself from the situation. And ironically enough it is possible to basically shut a town down where the only people allowed in are the ones that there. I just don't think one person can do it :) From what I understand it's a government thing. Anyway, the idea behind it was that everyone outside of the town has stopped supplying goods and services for the town because of the media attention and the fact that Spencer sued the town through the U.S. Supreme Court, making it a government issue. I didn't mean for it to sound like the town was literally blocked off...just sort of blacklisted. :)**

**_Harley Quinn Davidson: _I'm glad that you like it. Hopefully this chapter explains how Ashley is the thing gone wrong. At least that's was the plan with this chapter, and on another side it explains pretty much everything about back then. :) This is the light shedding chapter of the story...if you will. :)**

**_courtingdisaster: _What Ashley has to do with it will be revealed in this chapter. It's pretty subtle but interesting at the same time...I think :) I'm glad that you're liking it and sticking with it so far. I was a little nervous/worried that with all the twists I was gonna lose readers. Its good to know that that isn't the case. :)**

**And NOW... Part 3!**

**Enjoy and let me know what you think!**

**And for all of you who are wondering...I still don't own SON, only the story and a couple original characters.**

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**Chapter 36 Part 3: What It's All About**

**Spencer's POV**

I'm standing here in the diner almost dumbfounded by my sudden epiphany. But it all makes sense and I can't believe that I didn't put it all together before. No wonder Christine didn't want Ashley to get with me. It would ruin everything. Literally. She's been using Ashley as her eyes and ears without Ashley even knowing the truth about what's going on. Ashley told me once that before she got together with me, Christine used to call once a week to find out how things were going and ask random questions about some of the people here, and I bet that those phone calls were to find out and keep an eye on what everyone was doing. Ashley never questioned it. Why would she? As far as she knew her mother was just curious about her life here.

But Ashley was her little puppet and as soon as I came into the picture all of that changed. She didn't call as frequently because she was hoping beyond all hope that Ashley would never find out the truth. But she did find out and that meant that Christine and my father could no longer hide and play the game from across the country. He had to show himself because it was the only chance they had at derailing my plans to give everyone involved what's been coming to them for ten long years, if not longer. It was their last chance to gain back whatever control they had lost since my return and now everything is different.

My parents, Aiden, Glen, Chelsea, Clay, and Madison's parents, Christine, and Maryanne's mother have all become pawns of Mayor Jenkins and his "business practices". They followed in their parent's footsteps and now they have nowhere left to turn. My father didn't just let it slip that things had changed. He meant to say it because he knew I would figure out what he was talking about. I'm his way out of this mess. He's trying to get me to give him an excuse for things falling apart. And it pisses me off that I know that he's still trying to use me to save his own ass. But, then again, this could be a huge advantage for me.

"And what roadblock have you hit?" I ask firmly.

"What?" He says almost shocked as Christine's head shoots back up and her gaze falls on me.

"I said…what roadblock have you hit?" I reply looking straight into his eyes. "You just said that something changed. That there was a roadblock. Well, what is it? I mean you have to know something right? Otherwise that whole part of the conversation was a complete waste of my time and I'm walking out of here because clearly you would be lying through your teeth…again."

I'm baiting him. He knows it. I know it. I'm pretty sure Christine knows it. And everyone else is just trying to figure out what the hell just happened as my father looks at me with wide eyes. I raise my brow to challenge him to try and back peddle his way out of this. He opened the door and now he's going to deal with it…especially if he ever wants me to look at him like a real human being ever again.

"Right…" He says with a sigh while pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Arthur." Christine says softly, no doubt trying to stop him from letting it all spit out.

He looks over to her and nods his head, seemingly letting her know that it will be ok. At least I think that's what it means because she seems to relax slightly as she returns her gaze to me. I can see the fear hiding behind her eyes but she tries to mask it as my father looks back up to me.

"You are." He says so quietly that I barely hear him.

"What was that?" I ask slightly annoyed. "You need to speak up."

He takes a deep breath before continuing.

"You are, Spencer." He says loud enough for everyone to hear. "You're the roadblock. You came back into town and changed everything because you were the last thing anyone expected to have to deal with again. You came back and stirred up the town. You swept Ashley off her feet, effectively breaking a line of communication and information that no one knew existed…not even Ashley. You broke it all down just by showing up and the funny thing in all of this is that you shouldn't even be here."

"And why shouldn't I be here exactly?" I ask curiously as I look over to Ashley and see her face start to turn red.

I knew she wouldn't take this well, but she needed to know. She needed to hear it from them, because I don't know that she would believe it otherwise. I can see the anger flash through her eyes and Joe is trying to calm her down by placing his arm on her shoulder but I know this has got to be eating her up inside. I mean wouldn't you be pissed if you found out that you were a pawn in a sick and twisted game run by your parents and no one had the decency to fill you in? I bet you would.

I notice that my father hasn't responded to my question yet so I turn my gaze back to him and his eyes are wide with what I'm assuming is shock. Maybe he wasn't supposed to say that last part and now I'm intrigued.

"Why shouldn't I be here?" I ask again, pointedly.

"Spencer…" He says pleadingly.

"What? Now you're gonna clam up?" I say letting out a slight chuckle. "And to think…you were doing so well."

I shake my head and reach down to grab Ashley's hand, pulling her out of the booth. Jacqui, Joe, and Taylor follow suit as I start to walk out of the diner, grasping Ashley's hand tightly in my own.

"Spencer…" My father tries still standing by the table and I turn back to him as I reach the door.

"We're done here." I state firmly before spinning on my heels and walking out the door.

I know what he was going to say. He's just too chicken shit to say it. Because if he says it the hypothetical becomes real. If he says it, everything becomes more of a lie than it already was. His next words would drive a bigger hole through everything…if that's even possible…and every single thing that I was ever told in my life would become complete bullshit. It would prove just how expendable I was when it came to preserving the deceit that Mayor Jenkins and his little puppets had drawn up over the years. It would change everything because it would mean that everyone I cared about at some point during that part of my life, never really cared about me at all…including my parents.

And the realization of that cuts me deep because at one point I did care about them. At one point they were my everything, and now my whole childhood is playing out to be nothing more than a sham. They gave me a false sense of reality. Made me think that they loved me, only to turn it all around and sell me out when the time was right. And for what? A false sense of security that was never promised to any of them?

I make it across the street near the bandstand before I hear my father yelling at me from outside the diner, making me stop in my tracks and turn around to face him with anger burning in my eyes.

"Spencer…wait!" he yells stopping in the middle of the street to catch his breath. "Please…just…"

"Say it!" I yell from my position on the sidewalk.

"Spencer it's just…it's not that easy. You don't understand!" He says frustrated.

I let go of Ashley's hand and take a few steps forward so that I am now standing in the street and I notice that we are drawing a crowd. Everyone from inside the diner is now outside along with half the town. My mother and Mayor Jenkins are standing with Sheriff Whitely in front of the diner. No one really knows what's going on. But I know that my mother and Mayor Jenkins are anticipating my father's next words. Christine is behind him and I see her turn and glance in the direction of the diner. And right now I could care less what any of these people think! They made their bed and now they have to lie in it. I will show them who's expendable. I'll show all of them that they never have and never will break me.

"Then say it! Make me understand!" I yell walking closer to him. "You wouldn't have brought it up if you didn't want me to figure it out. So just fucking say it!"

I see him look around at the crowd that has gathered and I can't help but let out a loud sarcastic laugh. Is he seriously worried about what he's doing now? Really? Because a minute ago he was fine with letting shit slip. And now that he has to face everyone he's suddenly gone mute? How pathetic.

I shake my head and take a deep breath before continuing.

"What? Are you afraid of what the big bad Mayor and his pathetic excuses for Hench men might do?" I say condescendingly. "Have you suddenly lost your voice? Or are you really just a sad, pathetic little man who can't make one decision on his own!"

He doesn't say anything. He just continues to look straight into my eyes and I can see a small bit of regret running through him but I can't help but feel a little satisfied. He knows that I know what he's going to say and he knows the implications that come with it. He deserves to feel guilty. He deserves to feel like shit. They all do.

"Come on! Say It!" I yell angrily.

I can see the anger rising up within him. He's not happy that I'm putting him in this position and I don't care.

"Say it! Be a man for once in your life! Hell…be a fucking father!" I yell louder, making him contort his face in anger.

I must have struck a chord. Hit a nerve. Touched on the one subject that was sensitive to him because by the look on his face…he is pissed. He's fighting a battle within himself and all I want is the validation that every person in this town was and is a piece of shit.

"What do you want me to say, Spencer?" He says angrily. "You want me to say that she wasn't supposed to die that night. That Maryanne wasn't supposed to die that night? Because it's true!" His voice is rising with every word he speaks and all I can do is stand there and stare. "You were supposed to die, Spencer! But Aiden and Kyla…they couldn't do it! They couldn't kill you so they went with the next best option…someone they weren't so connected too."

I cross my arms in front of me as he lets out a shaky breath. Our eyes never losing contact. And for the first time in a long time I feel free. Free of any and all obligations that I ever had toward these people. I can see his world…their world crashing down in front of them and I am loving every minute of it. There's no more hiding because it's all out there. And everyone who was involved is witnessing the downfall of everything that they ever really knew.

"Arthur…" Mayor Jenkins says forcefully, but my father just brushes it off because at this point there's no turning back.

"Maryanne's mother made a mistake. She was going to go to the police like you…only she had actual proof. And I planted the seed. I went and told her about what you wanted to do and she told me that maybe it was time that we did something. But I dismissed it because we never would've gotten away with it. Catherine knew too much because she was just as wrapped up in this as you were and killing her daughter became the easy way out. Maryanne became a priority to get rid of right behind you. Killing Maryanne was the only way to keep Catherine in check."

He was on a roll and he couldn't stop now. He knew the implications that his word vomit would bring but he owed me this. He owed Ashley and Catherine this. They all needed to be brought down a peg and now everything was coming out in the open.

I glance over to my left and see Catherine standing there with unshed tears in her eyes. I feel for her. Because no one deserves what these assholes dished out. No one deserves to lose a child out of fear and spite. And I can't help but wonder what it must feel like to be her right now. I mean I'm still here and it should have been me that night. Not her daughter. And if I'm honest it kind of makes me feel a little guilty.

"Arthur…" Mayor Jenkins tries again moving closer to my father and I can't help the smirk that falls across my face as I return my gaze to my father.

"Kyla and Aiden wouldn't hurt you, Spencer. They refused to go through with killing you that night and instead they killed Maryanne. They planted the evidence and chose to pin her death on you because it was easier than the alternative. They did it to save themselves. So…they lived in hell for ten years…you lived in hell for ten years…and this whole town is going to hell! Is that what you wanted to hear?" He says inching closer to me. "Is it?"

I look at him before looking around at all of the people gathered outside to witness this event. I can faintly hear hushed tones being spoken among those who knew nothing about this. My mother and Christine have their heads down as they strain to separate themselves from the hole that my father just dug them into. Mayor Jenkins looks like he's about to go postal on my father and Maryanne's mother is looking at me with sad eyes. But, in this moment, I can help but feel elated as I turn my gaze back to my father.

"Well…at least it's the truth." I say calmly before turning on my heel and walking back towards my apartment, leaving my father standing there in shock at the fact that I'm walking away from all of this.

I know that this isn't over but no matter how you look at it it's a victory in my favor and in some small way a victory for Mrs. Wyatt as well. She's been forced to keep her mouth shut and now she doesn't have too. They took her daughter and they took my life in the process and now, they are going to be the ones squirming in their sleep. And when everything is said and done, I'm going to be the one on top.


	50. Chapter 37: Here We Go Again

**Hey Everyone! Sorry for the long wait. I've been ridiculously busy with major projects for work and a couple of other side projects and I just haven't had the time to update. **

**But here's the next chapter and I'm hoping to have the next one up in a few days because it's where the fun begins. :) Also don't hate me too much for this update...I promise that everything will work out. **

**Aa always thank you for all the lovely feedback. I always love reading what all of you have to say. It keeps me motivated and I love the input. I do promise that I will get back to all of you who commented on the last chapter but I only have a few minutes left before I have to get back to work and I figured you would want the Chapter more. :) **

**So here it goes. Enjoy! And let me know what you think! **

* * *

**Chapter 37: Here We Go Again**

**Spencer's POV**

After the incident at the diner, the entire town basically went silent. There was so much tension that you could cut it with a knife and all I could do was laugh at the sudden turn of events. With my father's bombshell confession, and Kyla and Aidan's release from the hospital, things had definitely become interesting in this small town over the past couple of weeks. And for the most part I just stayed to myself because as far as I was concerned I wanted nothing to do with anyone until it was time to show them what being in hell was really like. And the people that weren't involved seemed to make sure that they were extra careful when it came to staying away from those who were involved. After all, they didn't exactly know about the town's secret deal with the devil that was made so many years ago and they surely didn't want anything to do with it now that they did know. So, all in all, it was quite comical but that doesn't mean that my father's confession didn't cut me deep.

To say that I knew that I was the one that was supposed to die would be a lie. I didn't know until I put it all together from my father's words and it hurt. It hurt to know that they would just throw me away like I was nothing but it hurt more to know that another girl had to die so that I could live.

I used to spend hours just thinking about how I would rather be in Maryanne's position rather than being stuck behind a stone wall all day. And…after a while I felt dead anyway so it became a comparison between the two kinds of deaths…actual or living. It just didn't matter anymore because in my mind it was all the same. Two people got burned to keep a town's secret and any way you looked at it the life they had was gone. But after my father's speech the other day, a part of me wished that they had gone through with the original plan because at least then Ashley wouldn't have been torn up inside and she wouldn't have to deal with a whole new side of heartache.

For three days after my father's revelations, Ashley couldn't stop crying and all I could do was hold her and try to comfort her as best I could. I didn't know what she was feeling and there was no way that I could know. I mean if everything just played out like it was supposed to then I wouldn't have been here and her best friend most likely would. But then the catch to that is that we never would have met each other. She never would have fallen in love with me and her life would undoubtedly be very different than the one she lives today. I'm sure she feels conflicted and who could blame her.

I know that she loves me but it doesn't make this situation any easier especially when the whole thing revolves around two people who she cares about so much. And I can't even begin to imagine what it is that she feels right now. But I wish I did. I wish she would just talk to me. Talk to anyone. But she completely shut down once we got home from the diner and the only talking she did do was argue with me when she walked out the door a week ago.

_I'm downstairs standing by the kitchen counter with Taylor, Jacqui, and Joe discussing the events at the diner and the next step to take. Things have changed and now my plan needs to be tweaked a little. To say I'm pissed would be an understatement. I'm furious. I'm furious because it took me ten years to figure this all out when it shouldn't have. I'm furious that they made me a sacrificial lamb without a second thought. I'm furious because they went after a girl who knew nothing about any of this and killed her because it was the easy way out. I'm furious that they hurt Ashley. And I'm even more furious that there is nothing that I can do to take that pain away for her. _

_Believe me I've tried everything that I can think of. But it's been a week and Ashley may have stopped crying, but now she is in some sort of catatonic state. She won't talk to anyone, including me and it's frustrating because right now the woman I love seemingly wants nothing to do with me and I can't say that I blame her. All of this new information is a lot to process and maybe she's just suffering from post traumatic stress or something, but I wish she would just let me help her because it's killing me to see her like this. _

_I shake my head from my thoughts and as I turn my attention back to Taylor, Jacqui, and Joe, I hear the bedroom door open and footsteps coming down the stairs. I get a little hopeful thinking that maybe Ashley is ready to talk about this, but immediately change my mind when she comes to a stop at the foot of the stairs and locks her gaze on mine. Something's wrong and I know it. I can tell by the way she's looking at me and I'm a little scared now because it looks like she's saying goodbye without saying anything at all. _

_I make my way over to her and I see a single tear slide down her cheek as I come to a stop in front of her. I brush the tear away with the pad of my thumb as Ashley leans up and places a lingering kiss on my cheek. When she pulls back, she looks at me for a minute before turning and walking out the door. I stand there dumbfounded and unable to move, as I stare at the open door. She was really saying goodbye and that thought doesn't sit well with me. I take off out the door and follow her to her apartment on the floor below me. I can hear Jacqui yelling for me to come back but right now, the only thing I care about is finding out what is going on with Ashley. The thought of losing her tears me apart and I can't just let this go. Not now. Not ever._

_I get to her door and don't bother knocking as I make my way inside. I can hear her in the bedroom, throwing something around. I make my way up the stairs and stop at her bedroom door when I see her packing her clothes into a couple of suitcases. She's moving around methodically, trying to get things done as quickly as possible and I feel the ache inside of me growing stronger because I know that I am going to lose her. _

_After a couple minutes of just watching her move around without ever acknowledging my presence I walk over to her and grab her by the shoulders, stopping her in her tracks. She slowly brings her eyes up to meet mine and I can see the silent tears flowing down her cheeks as she tries in vain to keep it together. _

"_Ashley what are you doing?" I ask softly. _

_But all she does is stare into my eyes. I know she is trying to avoid the situation but this doesn't just affect her. I know perfectly well that she is running away because that is all she is used to in situations such as ours but I'm pissed. What the hell is she thinking? Because no amount of running away is going to take this away. Trust me. I know. I've tried it and it didn't fucking work. This shit haunts you. And now I'm pissed because I can't figure out whether or not she's running away from the truth or if she's simply running away from me. _

_She shakes out of my grasp and continues to pack with her back towards me and that pisses me off even more. I mean if you're just going to leave and rip my heart out then at least have the decency to do it to my face. _

"_Ashley?" I say sternly hoping to get some kind of reaction from her._

"_Just leave, Spencer." She says quietly. "You're only making this harder."_

_I let out a breathy chuckle and shake my head. This is unbelievable. _

"_So that's it?" I say taking a small step towards her. "This is how you're going to deal with this?" I ask slightly raising my voice. "You're just gonna run away from it all? Run away from me?" I yell and she stops her movements with her back still facing me. "I thought you were different then everyone else." I say slightly softer. "But…I guess I was wrong about that too."_

_She whips around to face me, the tears still evident in her eyes. _

"_Not everything is about you Spencer!" She yells throwing the clothes in her hand to the side._

"_Yeah…you're right. But I happen to know that this IS about me, Ashley!" I yell. "But if you want to run. Fine. Fucking run and be a coward. I don't care because obviously I never meant anything to you to begin with! I was just a fucking game to you! A way to keep Kyla off you're back!" I say taking a step back._

"_How can you even say that, Spencer?" She says stepping towards me as I continue to slowly step back. "You know damn well that I care about you! I went against my own fucking mother to be with you and now you have the audacity to say that I never cared? That you were just a game to me?" _

"_Wasn't I? I mean let's be serious Ashley! You find out the whole truth at the same time I do and suddenly you want nothing to do with me?"_

"_She was my best friend, Spencer!"_

"_And if I was dead she would be alive….right?" I say standing by her bedroom door. _

"_Spencer…" She tries._

"_No…I get it!" I say raising my hand up to stop her from moving forward. "But I didn't know everything that was going on. I didn't know about any of it. And none of that matters to you because in your eyes I should be dead. So if you want to go…then go. Because I don't need anything from anyone…especially their fucking pity." I say as a tear rolls down my cheek. _

"_Spencer, you don't understand…" She says but I cut her off._

"_Oh …But I do, Ashley." I say looking directly into her eyes. I know this is hurting her but I'm hurt too and I'm going to make it known. "If anyone understands it's me…but just remember that by leaving and walking away from me…you forget that I ever existed because obviously asking you to love me was too much to ask for in the first place."_

"_Spencer…" She tries taking another step forward but I back myself out into the hallway._

"_Goodbye Ashley." I say before turning on my heels and slamming the front door on my way out. _

And I haven't heard from her since. She left not too long after that. I watched her go from the window in my living room and let the tears fall freely as Taylor wrapped me in her arms to comfort me as my heart broke. I didn't really mean what I said. I needed her and a part of me still does. I just said it because I was angry that she was just walking away from me like it was nothing. I loved Ashley with everything that I had in me to give and I still do. I would be lying if I said that not seeing her every day and hearing her voice didn't hurt because it does, but I guess my love just wasn't enough to keep her from leaving. And maybe she just needed to do it to clear her head but whatever her reason is for leaving, I know that I have no choice but to accept and respect it no matter how much it kills me inside.

Besides, I came back with a purpose before I even knew her and that purpose isn't going to change any time soon. These people are going to pay for what they did to me and Maryanne, and tomorrow they are going to get a glimpse at what living in hell is really like. I just hope they're ready for it.

* * *

I'm woken up by someone knocking incessantly at my front door and groan loudly when I look at the clock on my nightstand and see that it's three in the morning. I close my eyes tightly praying to whoever that the annoying person at the door goes away but the knocking doesn't stop. I throw the blanket back roughly as I get out of bed and all I can think is that whoever the fuck is at my door better have a damn good reason for waking me up or I'm going to literally strangle them.

I make my way downstairs sleepily, turn on the light, and fling the door open after unlocking it without checking the peephole first. I figure that I'm so fucking irritated right now that if it is someone that wants to hurt me I would most likely have them down on the ground before they ever had a chance to get me. So either way I get my kicks. But as I swing open the door, I am stopped in my tracks, because the person I see on the other side is the last person I ever thought I would see standing in my doorway. And as I find myself suddenly at a loss for words my eyes go wide and I'm pretty sure I resemble a fish with the way my mouth is opening and closing.

"Spencer." She starts off slowly, making sure to maintain eye contact. "I'm sorry to come by so late but I haven't been able to stop thinking about everything and I think it's time we talk."

I stand there with eyes wide and my mind processing her words and after a few moments I find my voice that I was pretty sure had run away.

"Mrs. Wyatt?" I ask curiously. "No offense or anything but why would you want to talk to me? I mean seeing as I'm basically the reason that you're daughter is dead, what could we possibly have to talk about?"

"A lot." She says looking into my eyes to make sure I can see the sincerity behind them. "May I?" she asks while motioning to the inside of my apartment.

I nod slightly and move out of the way to let her in. Then I close the door and follow her into the living room where we both take a seat on the couch. We sit there in silence for a few minutes, and I can't help but wonder why she's here. I mean I have no ill feeling towards her but why would you want to sit in front of the reason why your daughter had to die? I mean wouldn't it be painful?

I take a chance and look over at her and she is staring at the wall directly in front of her. She is most likely trying to get her thoughts together or keep her thoughts in check because underneath it all, I know she is as pissed off as I am about this situation if not more. And she has every right to be. She has every right to throw anything at me she can because I'm still alive and her daughter is never coming back and it's all because I wanted to out the Mayor and everyone else involved in his schemes.

After a few minutes the silence becomes unbearable and I know that I either have to break it or stay in this weird uncomfortable state of confusion that I am suddenly finding myself in.

"So…" I start slowly. "What's this about, Mrs. Wyatt?"

"Justice." She states firmly, with a little bit of venom lacing her voice, before turning towards me and locking her gaze with mine. "Justice for my little girl. Justice for you. And justice for anyone else that's ever been wronged by them."

I look into her eyes and I can see the truth behind her words. I can see the hatred that she holds for Mayor Jenkins and everyone else involved. And I feel for her. I mean she is in an impossible situation. On one side she is trying to face up to the people who had her daughter killed so that she would keep her mouth shut. And on the other side she is trying to accept the fact that if Kyla and Aidan had gone through with the original plan then I would be dead and her daughter would almost certainly be alive. Now, I don't know if she blames me even a little bit, but I know I wouldn't fault her if she did.

"Mrs. Wyatt?" I ask tentatively. "What do you mean by that?"

"Spencer." She says with a small smile gracing her features. "I'm not here to yell at you or to tell you how much I hate you…because none of that would be true. As much as you probably think that I fault you for this, I don't. They used you just as much as they used my daughter."

"Yeah…but…if Kyla and Aidan had just done what they were supposed to then your daughter might still be alive." I say disbelievingly.

"Maybe so." She says placing a warm hand on my knee. "But none of that is your fault. I want them to pay for what they did, Spencer. They took your life away with my daughters and not once did they show any remorse. Not once did they try to stop any of it from happening and I'm sick of it. I'm sick of hiding away because it's the safe thing to do." She says standing up. "It's time I did what's right…both for my daughter and for you."

"Why do you care so much about me?" I ask as I get up and walk over to the window. "I mean…"

"Spencer…" She says softly. "Whether you believe it or not, you didn't deserve any of this. I should have stepped up and said something back then, but because I was scared of what else might happen, I didn't. And now, I'm going to do the right thing regardless of the outcome."

"You could go to jail." I state plainly.

"I'm not innocent in all this, Spencer. Before everything happened I played a roll too."

"I know. But you have the rest of your life to live and a family that loves you." I say turning back around to face her.

"And you haven't even begun yours." She states firmly.

"Maybe so. But I don't have anything left to lose." I say looking down to the ground.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that if I were you." She says softly and I look back up. I can see the meaning behind her words and it gives me a little bit of hope that maybe…just maybe…she's talked to Ashley. "Let me help you, Spencer." She says putting a hand on my shoulder.

I stare at her trying to find an ulterior motive. Anything that might suggest that she has her own agenda. But all I can see is the sincerity that lies behind her eyes. I can't figure out why she would want to help me. I mean I can understand that she wants to get justice for her daughter but she has no obligation to me. It's not her fault that any of this happened because it was going to happen anyway. She doesn't owe me anything and yet she wants to help me take them down. Not that I'm complaining about the help…it's just…would I be able to live with myself if her life got ruined in the process? She's lost so much already and it doesn't seem fair that she should lose anything else.

"After my daughter was killed, I knew that they were going to pin it on you. They made sure to cover up the existence of any evidence that wasn't directly linked to you and they managed to transfer your fingerprints onto any evidence that was linked to one of them." She says quietly. "Then they went to your friends and explained what was going to happen. They would use them as witnesses, they would pinpoint you out as the killer without hesitation, and, in turn, they would get to keep their lives because they were, in essence, shutting up the problem."

"Why are you telling me this?" I ask softly.

"Haven't you ever wondered how they managed to completely frame you and only put you in the house with my daughter…especially when everyone else was staying there?" She asks and I nod my head. "Spencer, technology helped them take an undisputed crime scene and turn it into a false reality of what really happened. The cops that showed up that night were three of Mayor Jenkins men. They showed up to clean up the mess that Kyla and Aidan had created. And they succeeded because they got you all out of the house and managed to not let any of you see a thing because, at the time, not one of you was thinking straight. But I was never naïve enough to believe that you actually did it. I knew you were going to the cops with what you knew because your father told me, and I knew that that was why they were pinning it on you."

"So why not say anything?" I ask evenly.

"Because I was a coward. They threatened my other daughter's life and it scared me because I had already lost one daughter. I couldn't bear to lose another." She says sheepishly.

"So, what's different now, Mrs. Wyatt?" I say softly. "I mean aren't you still scared for your other daughter's life?"

"I am." She says making eye contact with me. "But I told her the situation and she told me that I had to do something. That I couldn't let them get away with this anymore. And she's right. It's time for me to stand up to them because right now, is the only time that they can't do anything. Not when the spotlight's on them. And even if it wasn't, I would still want to help you, Spencer." She says stepping up in front of me. "You deserve a chance to live a full life. And Maryanne deserves to have her real day in court."

I turn back towards the window and I can see the sun begin to rise on the horizon as I digest everything that Mrs. Wyatt just told me. A million questions are running through my head and a million more doubts are running right beside those thoughts. But as soon as I begin to sort those thoughts out, I hear the front door fly open and hit the wall, causing me to spin around and stare wide-eyed at a panting Taylor. She comes to an abrupt stop right behind the couch and locks her eyes with mine.

"Spencer…" She says out of breath. "Town Center…Bandstand…"

"Taylor? What's going on?" I ask walking over to her.

"We gotta go." She says grabbing my hand and dragging me out the door with Mrs. Wyatt following closely behind. "Something's happened…and it's not good."

And the second those words leave her mouth the only phrase that comes to mind is: _Here we go again._


	51. Chapter 38: Deja Vu

Hey everyone! Sorry it took me so long to get this to you. I really have no excuse other than I was really busy and life got in the way. Either way I apologize for the insanely long wait and I hope you all continue to read and enjoy this.

Later today I'm going to update this chapter with some responses to everyone's feedback. I love hearing what you all have to say and it inspires me to keep writing this. This chapter is sort of a climax chapter because everything after this leads the story to the end.

And I am going to try and update more often since my schedule has died down a bit. Anyway, I hope you all like it. Let me know what you think because I went back and forth with this chapter and I'm not sure that I'm completely satisfied with it now. Or maybe that's just me over thinking. :) Either way... Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I Don't own SON. Just borrowing the characters to tell my story.

* * *

**Chapter 38: Déjà vu**

**Spencer's POV**

As I'm running down the street with Mrs. Wyatt and Taylor, all I can do is toy with the millions of scenarios running through my head. I can see the red and blue lights from the cop cars and ambulances, and the closer I get, the bigger the hole in my stomach seems to grow. This has Déjà vu written all over it and I can't seem to shake the feeling that whatever is going on in the center of this massive crowd of people up ahead, is going to somehow bite me in the ass. There's a reason I never trusted these people and I'm not about to begin now. So, you better believe that I'm keeping my guard up.

I start to think about Ashley as I keep running and that immediately makes me begin to wonder if she is the one who got hurt. Because I'm pretty sure that if it was her that any common sense that I still have would go out the window and I wouldn't care anymore. I would just lose it and go postal on some people. But I know deep down that it isn't her because I know I would feel it. I would just know. And since my heart isn't exactly shattered it gives me hope that she'll come back once she has herself sorted out. It gives me hope that maybe she hasn't given up on me after all. But that doesn't stop my mind from wondering if someone took something out on her in an effort to get to me because if I'm being honest, that's probably the only thing I am afraid of right now.

And then I start to think that maybe it's not as bad as I really know it is. But that would just be me trying to fool myself into believing that any of these people have a conscience. And then I think that not being able to see Ashley has made me start to crawl back into some kind of weird bubble where everything is ok. But even I know it's not and the closer I get the more that thought is confirmed. I can hear some people talking loudly and others crying. I can hear yelling and I can hear the Sheriff telling everyone to 'get back' through his megaphone as he stands on top of one of the police cars.

I begin to push my way through the insanely large crowd and hear some people gasp as they realize that it's me coming through. The Sheriff doesn't seem to notice me as he continues to talk into the megaphone until I make my way to the front and under the police tape blocking off the town square. He stops talking and I stop dead in my tracks as I look over to the bandstand. A million memories run through my head in that moment and, as I remember the night I got arrested, I am brought back into a nightmare that I thought I left behind a long time ago.

* * *

_Me, Kyla, Glen, Madison, Aidan, Clay, and Chelsea, are all sitting in my living room watching a movie. It has been three weeks since Maryanne was killed and left in the cabin and we weren't allowed to really go anywhere because we were all witnesses to a crime, or so they told us. But, the truth was that we all knew what happened and because no one would talk they had us pretty much on lockdown._

_About forty-five minutes into the movie, there's a knock at the door and I can hear my mother walk out of the kitchen to answer it. I hear Sheriff Whitely's voice as my mother lets him in and walks him into the living room where we are all scattered around. Kyla mutes the movie and looks at me for a minute before turning to Sheriff Whitely who is practically burning holes into Kyla's eyes through his glare. For a minute I am slightly confused until the Sheriff starts to talk calmly._

"_Spencer." He says evenly as I turn my attention to him. "Would you please stand up?"_

_I scrunch my eyebrows in confusion as I slowly stand up and make my way over to him. _

"_Turn around please and place your hands behind your back." He says dejectedly and then it hits me. _

_He's arresting me for this murder. He's arresting me for something that I had nothing to do with and by the way he's talking, a part of me starts to believe that maybe he knows the truth and doesn't want to be doing this. _

"_You're under arrest for the murder of Maryanne Wyatt." He says putting the handcuffs lightly around my wrists. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." _

_And slowly I see my life slipping away and pure anger filling my entire body as I turn around and look Sheriff Whitely in the eye. _

"_You're kidding me right?" I say with venom in every word. "You know I didn't do this." I say glaring at him and I see him swallow hard._

"_Spencer." I hear Aiden say from behind me. "We're trying to help you. You need help. And we're all scared that you might not stop hurting people."_

_And that is when I realize that Aiden is the one behind all of this. He's the one who hurt her and he's pinning it on me to save his own ass. I should have known that bastard would pin this on me if I didn't say anything. I turn towards him and glare into his eyes. _

"_Fuck you, Aiden." I say as my blood boils even more and I move my gaze to Kyla, silently pleading with her to say something. Anything. But she doesn't. _

_Sheriff Whitely grabs my shoulder and turns me back around. _

"_That's enough, Aiden." He says sternly, never moving his gaze from mine. "Spencer, you have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you. Do you understand these rights?"_

"_Yeah." I say angrily. _

_

* * *

_

And in that moment I vowed that I would not let Aiden get away with what he did. I wouldn't let any of them get away with it. And now as I stand here looking at the bandstand, unable to move my gaze, I am brought back to the night Maryanne was murdered. I see the blood splattered all over the bandstand. I see the rope tied securely to the rafters at the top of the dome. I see the cuts and the bruises that the blood is trying to cover. And I get sick to my stomach as my eyes focus on the lifeless body hanging in the town square. My breathing picks up and I stumble backwards as I stare at my father's brutally murdered body.

My ears start to ring and I can hear Kyla off in the distance. I turn around and run over to the trash can outside the diner, throwing up at the thought that all of this is happening all over again. But this time they were finally able to shut my father up for good. He wasn't coming back from this and with my father really gone they probably thought that it would make me drop this whole thing too. But they couldn't be more wrong because unlike everyone else, I'm not afraid of them. Not the Mayor and his men, or Aiden and Kyla.

* * *

_I'm sitting in my holding cell, staring at the wall on the opposite side of the small room. I don't know how I let this happen. I don't know how I let it get this far. How could I not see this coming from a mile away? I should have known that something wasn't right and I should have done something about it. But all I can think about now is how I am going to make Aiden, Mayor Jenkins and everyone else involved pay for this. I know that I'm the one being held responsible for this because they want to shut me up. But what they don't realize is that they have ignited a fire in me and in that moment I vow to myself that I will not spend the rest of my life behind bars. _

_After what seems like months, I hear one of the guards walk up to the door and unlock it, effectively breaking me from my thoughts. I turn my head in his direction and he motions for me to stand up._

"_You have a visitor." He says evenly._

"_Who?" I ask with sarcasm lacing my voice as I stand up and make my way over to the door._

"_Come on." The guard says ignoring my question and leading me down the hall to the visitation room. _

_As I enter the room I come to a stop and a smirk crosses my face. Standing over by the window is Mayor Jenkins and all I can do is laugh inside because I can't figure out why the hell he would come visit me. _

_I walk over to the table in front of him and take a seat as he turns around and sits in the chair across from me. He motions for the guard to leave the room and my smirk just grows. This should at least be entertaining. _

_After a few minutes of a staring contest, I break the silence._

"_What do you want?" I ask slightly irritated._

"_How are you doing, Spencer? They treating you well?" He says slyly._

"_Cut the crap, Jenkins. We both know you don't care about me. So, what do you want?" I say angrily._

"_You should have played the game, Spencer." He says inching forward in his seat._

"_I'll take my chances rolling the dice, Jenkins." I say with a smirk as I lean forward a little. "I like my odds."_

"_You'll never make it in here, Spencer. And when you fail, it's going to be the exclamation point to all of this. The ultimate satisfaction in my eyes." He says in a hurried whisper._

"_You sure I'll never make it? What makes you so sure that I'm just gonna fold? I'm not one of your puppets, you self-righteous son of a bitch and one day you will regret this." I say through gritted teeth. _

"_You need to fall in line." He says leaning closer to me. "You need to just take the punishment coming to you and deal with it, because, Spencer, I always get what I want and some little brat isn't going to ruin that for me."_

"_You might have gotten what you want now, but I promise you Mayor Jenkins, that you will regret this. And I never break a promise." I say with venom in my voice as I stand up and make my way back to the door. "And tell Kyla and Aiden that they better watch their backs."_

_

* * *

_

To this day I wonder what the point of him coming to see me that day was because if he was trying to scare me it wasn't working. I mean clearly it didn't work because I wouldn't be here today if it did. But a part of me likes to believe that maybe he started harboring some fear from my last statement because in reality he didn't know anything about me or my will power back then.

I run my hand over my mouth to make sure that I don't have anything on my face before I stand back up straight and take a deep breath. I turn back around only to find Kyla's gaze as she storms over to me from across the street and pushes me back.

"This is all your fault!" She screams.

_Here we go. _

"How is this my fault, Kyla?" I say pushing her back. "TELL ME!" I say shoving her hard into a police car.

"You couldn't just leave it alone…could you?" She yells coming back at me. "NOW DAD'S DEAD AND YOU HAVE NO ONE TO BLAME BUT YOURSELF!" She says shoving me back a little.

"NO ONE TO BLAME!" I yell getting in her face. "SERIOUSLY KYLA? THAT'S ALL YOU GOT? REALLY? 'CAUSE MAYBE YOU SHOULD COME OUT OF THAT WARPED FANTASY WORLD YOU'RE LIVING IN AND TAKE A LOOK IN THE MIRROR!"

"I'M NOT THE ONE WHO GOT DAD KILLED!" She yells taking a swing at my face but misses because I move back slightly, which causes her to fall to her knees from the momentum of the swing.

I can see her starting to break down inside. The past is coming back to haunt her. It's coming back to haunt all of them and it's written all over their tear-stained faces. And yet, I find it slightly odd that Aiden even knows what a tear is considering I know that he is behind this somehow and I know he doesn't give a shit. I bend down and place my mouth close to her ear.

"You sure about that Kyla." I say quietly with anger lining my voice. "Because last time I checked it wasn't my actions that got us to where we are right now. It was yours and Aiden's and now you have to live with knowing that your husband played a role in murdering your father. You have to live knowing that the father of your child is nothing more than a heartless, cold-blooded murderer who will do anything as long as it gives him some benefit. How pathetic are you, Kyla?"

She shoves me hard and I fall backwards onto the ground, laughing lightly.

"Fuck you, Spencer!" She says standing up slowly as I match her movements. "Fuck you!"

She starts to lunge towards me but is stopped by Sheriff Whitely wrapping his arms around her waist. I'm pissed…she's pissed…and everyone here fucking knows it.

"Did I strike a chord, Kyla?" I say angrily as Big Joe comes up behind me and grabs my arm to keep me back.

"Go to hell!" She yells.

"I'll see you there!" I say venomously.

"That's enough!" Sheriff Whitely yells to both of us. "The two of you need to stop! We don't know who did this…"

"Like hell we don't!" I say cutting him off.

"Spencer…"

"YOU!" Mayor Jenkins yells coming from the other side of the street. _Could this day get any better?_ "You did this!" _Well, that figures._

"No she didn't!" Mrs. Wyatt says stepping in front of me, getting in his face and stopping him in his tracks. "She was with me all night in her apartment. And I'll be damned if you're going to pin this one on her too!" She yells.

Mayor Jenkins' eyes go wide and everyone in the town center stops what they're doing. Mrs. Wyatt just stuck up for me. She just called out the Mayor and didn't think twice about it. She just solidified everything that my father told us in the diner to everyone in town and something tells me that now people will listen. It's not like they're going to hurt her because…really…how would that look if bodies started piling up. But more importantly, she just defended the girl found guilty of murdering her daughter and opened up a whole new door. She's not afraid anymore. They don't scare her like they once did and for the first time in a long time I am grateful for someone's words.

"This ends here!" She says angrily. Her resolve not wavering. "You leave this girl alone or so help me God, Jenkins, you will regret it!"

"Ok…Everybody just stop!" Sheriff Whitely says tiredly. "A man is dead. Their father…" He says pointing between me and Kyla. "…is dead. And all anyone wants to do is fucking point fingers. Well, not this time. This time I'm doing this my way. So let my guys do their job and everyone shut up!" He yells turning towards his crime scene investigators. "And for the love of God cut him down now! He's not a fucking puppet on display!"

Three of the investigators scramble over to my father's body, while a fourth grabs a ladder to climb up and cut the rope. I look over to Mrs. Wyatt to find her staring right back at me. I give her a little head nod and a slight smile graces her features. I still can't believe she did that because even though you could cut the tension with a knife in this town square, the one thing that can't be altered is the fact that Mayor Jenkins is officially losing control of the one seemingly sure-fire thing he had going. And I couldn't be happier.


	52. Chapter 39: The Notebook

**Hey Everyone! Here is the next chapter for your enjoyment. There's only a few left...I think. So, I will try not to make you all wait too long in between chapters. :) I'm finding that my problem with getting them out is that I'm never happy with these chapters. But I think that I got this one right so we'll see what you all think. **

**But first I want to respond to your reviews since you all are what keeps me writing this nad motivated enough to finihs it. :)**

**ToastedMarshmellow08: I can promise that everyone will get what they deserve. This town hasn't seen nothing yet...**

**courtingdisaster: The town will get their asses handed to them and maybe Spencer will get a little help from an unexpected source. ;/**

**Irishgrl33: I don't think pulling it off is going to be the hard part. I think the hard part lies in who she can really trust. **

**Harley Quinn Davidson: I can assure you that nothing has happened to Ashley. You will find out what's going with her...well...soon. :)**

**imaferrari: Maryanne's mother is definitely on Spencer's side in this and the last chapter was just a little taste of what's to come in regards to her. Everyone is definitely going to be getting what is coming to them. And I kinda like the idea of poetic justice. :) And as far as Kyla goes, she doesn't really know what the hell to do because she's basically never had a thought of her own...**

**degrassi1son: That was the idea. If Spencer died then Maryanne would be alive, unless Mrs. Wyatt didn't shut up. But Kyla couldn't let Aiden kill Spencer so they went with plan B.**

**Dushkusbitch: I'm glad that you decided to reread it and continue to read it. I finally was able to get enough time to finish it so here I am. And I still post it on the Spashley forum too. I never wanted to leave the story unfinished so...you know... Anyway, I'm glad that you like it and I hope that you like the way it ends. There's a few more chapters left so there's plenty of time for Spencer to make everyone regret what they did to her. And as for her parents...well...there's really no redeeming them in this story. At least not yet.**

**cathielove10: Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it.**

**Nina Molotov: Well...I'm glad you like it. I like the element of surprise and I love being able to shock people when it comes to my suspense/mystery stories. I think it keeps things interesting. :)**

**DontMndBnCrazy: I'm glad that you're still reading it. Even if you can't review all the time (I know life can get in the way) it's nice to hear that you still enjoy it. So no need to apologize for not being able to review :) . And I hope that you continue to enjoy it. Everything is coming together and now, even more so with this chapter. :)**

**ConnieLaxer12: I always love hearing what everyone has to say. It's what keeps me writing it and finishing it up. :) I'm glad that you like the badass Spencer. I'll admit that I was a little worried about putting her in that position, especially since the story revolves around her, but I am a fan of the unexpected so I figured why not give it a go. I'm just glad everyone is liking it. I'm pretty sure that by now, everyone wants to cyber-punch Aiden or possibly do much worse things to him and if I'm being honest...I do too. :) **

**chunkymonkey3: lol...I like creating suspense and I'm gonna guess that the goosebumps are a good thing...lol. Glad you're liking it.**

**Ok...so I think I got everyone from chapter 49 (37 in the story) on...but if I forgot someone just let me know and I'll make sure to review your feedback :) But for now, on with the story.**

**This chapter is kinda important...just like the last. Let me know what you all think! You know I love to hear it! :) Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own SON...just borrowing the characters for my story.**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 39: The Notebook**

**SPENCER'S POV**

_We've been sitting here for about three hours, just watching Sheriff Whitely and the crime scene investigators go over every little detail. And somehow I feel a little comforted by the fact that he is making everyone stand behind the yellow tape, even Mayor Jenkins. It brings me satisfaction to know that that man cannot get his hands on anything within a fifty foot radius of the bandstand. And surprisingly enough he hasn't complained too much about it. Although it is a smart move considering he wouldn't want anyone thinking that he was behind this even though the majority of us know that he was. _

_And ironically enough, the crowd is still as big as it was when I got here with no one showing any signs of going home any time soon. It's like watching the pieces of an intricate puzzle come together and everyone is glued to their spots, even though the coroner took my father's body to the morgue an hour ago. But nothing like this has ever happened in this town. Sure, Maryanne was murdered but that was up at the cabins near the camping grounds. It wasn't actually in town and I'm pretty sure that's the reason everyone is sticking around. I mean this town already has a national spotlight on it and a murder in the center of town seems to add to the dramatic aspect of this whole thing. _

_I look over to where Kyla is sitting and I notice that she is staring right back at me. Her face is filled with anger and hate but I'm beginning to think that maybe it's not entirely directed at me. Maybe it's directed at herself, or maybe it's directed at Aiden because he just tried to put his arm around her and she threw it off her shoulders. Ha! Isn't that poetic justice? Maybe she actually heard what I was saying to her and it really did strike a chord. I know she still wants to kill me and the feelings are mutual on my part. But I wouldn't wish Aiden upon anyone…even my enemies. _

_I see Sheriff Whitely walk over to his patrol car and grab what looks like a book out of the trunk before walking over to stand in front me, causing me to look up._

"_Hey Spencer." He says softly._

"_Sheriff." I reply evenly._

_I look at the book that he's clutching to his chest and notice that it's a hard cover notebook with my name on the front, written neatly on a sticky note. My brows furrow in confusion as he reaches out to hand the book over to me. _

"_This is for you." He says tiredly as I reach up to grab it._

"_You can't give her that!" Kyla yells from across the street._

_The Sheriff visibly sighs before responding calmly._

"_It's addressed to Spencer, Kyla." He says exasperated as he turns around to face her. "And…yes…I can give it to her. Now sit back down."_

"_This is bullshit!" She yells trying to force her way across the street through the officer's. _

"_Kyla, just sit down!" I say exasperated. "Seriously…you're making yourself look like a moron."_

"_Shut up Spencer. This isn't about you!" She yells desperately._

"_Isn't it Kyla?" I say standing up but not moving from my spot. "You're just waiting for those cuffs to go around my wrists. You know it…I know it…and everyone else here knows it too. But you know what?" I say evenly. "It isn't going to happen this time. This time you don't get to play the judge, jury and executioner, Kyla. You don't get a say. All you get to do is watch your perfect little world fall apart."_

"_That book was dads and…" _

"_Clearly he wanted me to have it since my name is on it and all." I say cutting her off. "So what are you afraid of, Kyla?"_

"_I'm not afraid of anything." She says with uncertainty in her voice. _

"_Yeah…nothing except your pathetic excuse of a husband." I say condescendingly. _

"_Shut up, Spencer!" She says with irritation lining her voice and I know I'm right. Funny how she doesn't deny it._

"_Make me, Kyla." I say calmly which I'm sure is the reason her face is turning red from anger._

"_Ok, Ladies. Seriously…that's enough." Sheriff Whitely says sternly. "I understand the hostility in the air right now, but the two of you fighting isn't going to solve anything. And apart from that it doesn't matter. The act was committed and the forensics will tell the truth behind who did it. You two are sisters. You shouldn't be at each other's throats. And every one of your friends should be stopping this…not encouraging it. And your Mother…" He says looking over in her direction. "Your mother should be standing by both her daughters and not playing favorites." _

"_Yeah…well…our lives don't work that way." I say softly._

"_Well they should." He says looking at me before making his way back over to the bandstand. _

_Kyla just sits back down on the curb following everyone else because what exactly can we say after that? It was weird to have a perfect family image put into our heads because I don't think any of us remember what it feels like to be in that situation. It put a weird vibe in the air and maybe that's what Sheriff Whitely was going for because ultimately it shut us all up._

_A couple minutes later Big Joe sits down next me, as I turn my father's book in my hands. I'm debating about whether or not I want to open it because the information I find inside could mean anything. There are so many possibilities as to what is in this book and it intimidates me a little because this book could potentially hold the power to break me. But then again it could help me too. _

"_You gonna look inside?" Joe asks quietly._

_I take a deep breath before looking into his eyes and answering. _

"_Not right now." I say laying the book in my lap and clutching it with my hands. "Maybe later."_

* * *

And three days later, here I am, sitting on my bed with my back against the headboard and the book in my lap, still closed. I haven't looked at it yet and I can't seem to figure out what's stopping me from opening it. I mean I'm not scared because my life can't get much worse than it already has but something keeps me from wanting to see what's inside. Maybe it's the idea that I figured out it's my dad's journal that he was constantly writing in before everything went to hell. Or maybe it's because I know that once I open it, everything will be out in the open. I don't really know. Maybe I'm just not ready because I have other things on my mind. Either way, it's frustrating me to no end.

I let out a deep breath and place the book on my nightstand before lying on my back and staring up at my ceiling. I have so much to do and I can't do anything until the forensics results come back in two to three weeks. I have to wait it out whether I want to or not because the results of these tests are going to help me bring them all down. They may have staged the perfect scene and made an exact replica of the night that Maryanne died. But what they didn't count on was the reaction Mrs. Wyatt would have. They didn't count on her defending me. They didn't count on Sheriff Whitely closing the scene off to them. And they didn't count on me. So waiting a couple more weeks before I bring it all out is worth it just to see their sad, pathetic faces when the world they know comes crashing down on them.

I close my eyes and start to think about Ashley. I wish I knew what was going on with her. I wish she would just tell me that she's ok. But I really wish that she would just come back. I get that everything is hard on her but it's not like she's the only one dealing with this. I mean we all have to deal with this and I worry about what she might do. I worry that she's going to do something that she's going to regret. But, I know my worries are unfounded because I don't think Ashley's the type to just throw away everything she's worked for just like that.

It's just that I miss her. I love her and I only want her to be happy and I'm beginning to think that maybe I'm not what makes her happy. Maybe I'm not what she needs and if that's the case then I need to support that. I might not like it but I at least need to respect it. I have come to the conclusion that sometimes what we want and what we need is the same thing, but sometimes we just can't have it no matter how hard we try.

However, I'm not giving up on her. I could never do that. And if she comes back to me then I will let the anger I felt when she left go because she means more to me than some petty fight. And I'm pretty miserable without her which, in some cases, is just sad because I shouldn't be so dependent on someone that I've only known for a fairly short period of time. But I can't help the way I feel and I'm okay with that. I'm okay with the fact that part of me has become this vulnerable little girl that I used to be. I'm okay with the fact that she pretty much has me wrapped around her finger. And I'm okay with the fact that I'm turning into a love-sick puppy who seemingly can't live without the one person that makes them feel safe. None of it matters because I would do anything just to have her back here with me. And if feeling the way I feel is a testament to that then I'm okay with it.

"I just wish she could love me." I say quietly into the darkness of my room with my eyes still closed.

"I do." I hear whispered softly.

And for a minute I think that maybe I'm hearing things. I think that maybe the universe is messing with me because it wants me to go crazy. But then I hear the door click shut and I bolt upright on the bed as my eyes pop open to find Ashley standing by the door in the darkness. And the thought that I'm just seeing things crosses my mind briefly before she slowly makes her way over to the bed and takes a seat on the edge beside me as I scoot up so my back is against the headboard again.

"Ashley?" I say softly, the shock evident in my voice.

"It's me." She says softly. "I'm sorry it took so long to come back to you."

And now would be a good time to answer her but I can't. I feel like my throat has closed up and the words are just a jumbled mess stuck inside of me. I'm happy she's here but I'm surprised as hell because as much as I need her, given the situation, I wouldn't necessarily blame her for running for the hills.

"Spencer, say something. Anything." She says quietly cutting into my internal rant. "Tell me you hate me. Tell me you love me. Tell me to get out. Just anything. Please." She says pleadingly.

"I don't hate you, Ash. I love you. I'm just surprised to see you." I say honestly.

She nods her head, indicating that she understands and lets out a shaky breath before breaking the momentary silence.

"I'm so sorry, Spencer. I shouldn't have just left like that." She says tentatively taking my hand in hers.

"Then why did you?" I ask softly.

She looks up and locks her eyes on mine and I notice that she looks like she hasn't slept in weeks. Her eyes are bloodshot and she looks so tired; a look that I'm sure is reflected in me.

"Because it's the only way I know how to deal with my problems." She says quietly. Her gaze never leaving mine. "But it's not an excuse. I never should have just left and I never should have treated you the way that I did." She lets out a breath before continuing. "It was a lot to take in, but I never blamed you, Spence. So if you thought that then I need you to get that out of your head."

"Ashley, it's ok if you did." I say evenly. "I know it was a lot to take in. I know how difficult it was to hear everything that my father said that day."

"But it was hard for you, too." She says cutting me off. "I wasn't the only one hearing those things for the first time, Spencer, and the way I handled it was childish. I walked out on you when you needed me. I was selfish and I never meant to hurt you like that."

"Well, I wasn't exactly nice about it either, Ashley." I say jumping in. "I said some horrible things to you and…"

"Yeah but you were hurt. I wouldn't talk to you and I know what it did to you, Spencer." She grips my hand tightly in her own. "But you always existed to me. I never wished that Maryanne was here and you were the one that died that night. You mean so much to me, Spencer. I love you. And the fact that you had to doubt that, even for a second, makes me disgusted with myself."

"Well, you shouldn't be." I say with a shrug of my shoulders. "You shouldn't feel that way because even if you did have those thoughts it would be natural. Everyone wonders 'what if' at some point so you shouldn't feel disgusted with yourself for being human."

"True…but Spencer, I never thought those things. I never thought about what it would be like if things were different. If they happened the way that they were supposed to that night. I never wanted you to not be here because without you I'm not sure who I am anymore." She says while keeping her gaze locked on mine and wrapping my hand more securely in hers. "I walked out on you at probably one of the worst possible times because I couldn't handle everything that was being thrown at me. I just left you without any real explanation and I have no idea how to fix it."

I take in what she is saying and compose my answer before I respond. The last thing I want to do is get this wrong and risk her walking out on me again because I really don't know how I'd handle that.

"Nothing's broken, Ashley. There's nothing to fix." I say evenly. "I mean yeah…you hurt me…but I hurt you too because I felt like I was losing the only thing that made sense to me. The only thing that actually meant something to me and I couldn't handle it. And I don't even know where to begin to apologize. But I am so sorry for all of it. And I know that you're sorry too. So, can we just say that we both made mistakes, we both hurt each other and move on?"

As Ashley is absorbing what I just said, I feel a tear run down my cheek. She raises her hand to wipe it away with her index finger and I can feel the love radiating off of her. I know that we have some things to work out. I know that she needs to stop running and I need to stop popping off at her. But right now, I don't care about anything but her. Right now I just need her to be here for me fully.

She gives me a soft smile and stands up beside the bed. And for a moment I get scared because I don't want her to leave again. I don't want her to walk out that door and away from me.

"Don't go." I say pleadingly.

I know I sound pathetic. But in this moment I don't really give a damn because I don't think I can keep it together on my own. Ashley leans over and lifts my chin up making my gaze meet hers.

"I'm not going anywhere, Spence. I was just gonna take my jacket off and sit with you…if that's ok?"

"That's perfect." I reply with a small smile on my face.

Ashley returns the smile and stands back up while taking her jacket off and walking over to hang it over the chair at my desk. I watch her as she takes her shoes off and places them neatly on the floor beside the desk before walking over to the other side of the bed and sitting down next to me, intertwining our hands.

I lay my head back against the headboard, close my eyes, and take a deep breath, feeling the calmness wash over me as we sit in a comfortable silence. I know that there are things that still need to be said, but for right now, the silence is a welcome change from the chaos of the last three days. I don't even know if Ashley knows what's been going on. I mean I'm sure she's heard something because it's all over the news but then again maybe she hasn't. Maybe she really was just doing some soul searching and avoided any media outlet that could be a constant reminder of everything going on here. I know that if I had the chance to shut the world out, I would. And maybe someday I'll be able to.

But for right now, I will deal with the chaos that has sent my life spiraling ten years into the past. All I see when I close my eyes is my father's body hanging from the bandstand and all I want to do is rip these people apart. Sure, I'm still pissed at the man for what he did to me but it doesn't mean that I wanted him dead. And seeing that image in my head is not helping me sleep at night.

I keep thinking that maybe if I open the damn notebook, the images will go away, but I know they won't because I still have dreams about Maryanne hanging in the shower. The only difference is that it got better. Those dreams don't come all the time like they used to and I'm holding onto the hope that maybe the dreams of my father will die down over time as well.

Ashley squeezes my hand and I can feel her staring at my profile. She's letting me know that she's here, as if I could forget, and I feel a small smile creep onto my face. Her gaze is intense, and even though I can't see it since my eyes are closed, I know that she's trying to figure out what's going through my head. I'm just not so sure I'm ready to share because I'm still a little afraid that she's going to leave again. And the irrational side of me is telling me that if I start talking then everything will freak her out and she'll run. But the rational side is simply telling me that I'm an idiot and she isn't going anywhere. So, right now I'm stuck somewhere in the middle trying to make myself compromise with myself. Or maybe I really am just going crazy because I'm pretty sure arguing with yourself this much isn't good.

"Spence." Ashley whispers bringing me out of my thoughts.

I open my eyes and turn my head to face her.

"Yeah?"

"What're you thinking about?" She says placing a soft kiss on my hand.

"Just…everything." I say softly.

It's not a lie. But it's not exactly me being open either. I know she can sense my apprehension because she clutches my hand tighter and scoots a little closer to me. I start to think that maybe she can read me better than I thought she could because the look in her eyes is one of love and understanding.

"Taylor told me about your dad when I got here." She whispers quietly.

"You didn't hear it from the news or something?" I ask.

"I didn't so much as look at a newspaper or turn on a TV when I left." She says honestly. "All I wanted was to clear my head."

I nod my head in understanding and look over to my father's journal laying on the nightstand. I know I need to open it. I know that I need to be prepared. Because no matter how much it hurts to read his journal, it is the only thing that's going to provide me iron-clad proof of the past. I turn my head back towards Ashley and lock my gaze with hers.

"What did Taylor tell you?" I ask softly.

"That it was like a repeat of the night Maryanne died. She told me that you and Kyla got into it and that Mrs. Wyatt defended you when Mayor Jenkins tried accusing you of killing him."

I turn my head so that I'm looking straight ahead and take another deep breath.

"Did she tell you about the notebook?"

"What notebook?" She asks softly with some confusion in her voice.

"My father's notebook." I say quietly as I nod my head in the direction of the nightstand.

Ashley sits up a little and spots the notebook with my name on it. Her brows furrow in confusion before she brings her gaze back to meet mine.

"What's in it?" She asks.

"Don't know." I state simply. "I haven't actually opened it yet. I've just been sitting here with it for three days."

"Spence, you should open it." She states seriously.

"I know. And I will. Just…not now."

"Spencer, I know that the last three days have been hell on you. And I hate myself for not being here. I should've been here for you but I wasn't. And I can't change that." She sits up on her knees and waits until she has my full attention. "But I'm here now. And I'm not going anywhere because I need you more than I think you will ever know. These last couple of weeks have been horrible because I wasn't with you. I love you Spencer, and I know that you know that that notebook is important. So you have to open it. You have to see what's in there because, if nothing else, it could give you some closure or the final nail in the coffin that you need to take these people down. And I promise you that I will be here for you every step of the way."

And the sincerity in her voice makes me believe her. It tells me that somehow we will make it through this and work everything out, which is all I want right now. I smile lightly before leaning forward and placing a soft kiss on her lips. And immediately everything comes back. I missed the feeling of her lips on mine. I missed the way it felt to wrap my arms around her and pull her close. I missed the way her hands felt as they ran through my hair as she attempts to deepen our kiss and straddles me in the process. But most of all I just missed her because I have never felt so much in just a person's kiss before she walked into my life. I know she's it for me and all I have to do is finish what I came here to do, before we can really move on with our lives and put this all behind us.

"I missed this." She whispers pulling back slightly. "I missed you."

"Me too." I say quietly. "So much."

Ashley smiles sweetly before placing a quick kiss to my lips and moving off of me. I reach over and grab the notebook, placing it in my lap and lightly running my hands over the cover. I guess now is as good a time as any to start looking inside. I figure if I do it in doses, then the impact won't be so bad. But, honestly, I have no idea why this damn book is so intimidating to me in the first place. I know I'm just being stupid and I need to get past that whether I want to or not.

"Will you stay with me while I read it?" I ask tentatively.

"Always." Ashley says as she wraps her arm around my shoulder.

I lean into her side and bring my knees up so that the book is slanted in front of me. I slowly open the cover and let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding as I notice a letter folded up and tucked into the crease. I pick up the letter and unfold it completely before I begin to read.

_Spencer, _

_I know that I am far from perfect. I have done many things that I am not proud of and I wish that, just for a second, I could go back in time and do it differently. At least then I wouldn't have hurt my baby girl. I never should have let them hurt you. But I was a coward and in some ways I still am. And a testament to that is the fact that I am giving this book to you instead of exposing its secrets myself. I know it's not an excuse, but when you have certain things drilled into your head every day of your life, you tend to throw common sense out the window because if that's what you're being taught then it can't be wrong. And as much as I knew it was, I couldn't bring myself to stop it and there is nothing that I will ever be able to do to make that up to you. Except for maybe this. _

_Chances are if you're reading this and it wasn't given to you by me, then I am already dead. So, I need to make it clear to you just how sorry I am for everything I have done. And mostly my regrets only have to do with the way that I treated you. Ashley was right when she said that no father should ever treat their daughter that way. She was right when she said I was wrong for the things I had let happen to you, rather than trying to stop it. And she was right when she said that I abandoned you. I took the easy way out, Spencer. And that is perhaps the biggest regret in my life. _

_But know this. There hasn't been a day that's gone by since I faked my death that I haven't thought about you. Not a day that I haven't thought about what a pathetic excuse of a father I was for not protecting my baby girl because that should have always been my first priority. I never should have let them put the blame on you. I never should have kept that secret from you when I wasn't able to keep it from your sister or your mother. I never should have let them erase you from their lives. I should have found a way to get in touch with you and let you know what was going on and I will never forgive myself for you blaming yourself for my death. None of what happened was your fault, Spencer. You never did anything wrong and I am sorry that everyone, including myself, made you feel as though you did. I have no doubt that if things had been handled differently then you wouldn't be in the position you are today and you certainly wouldn't be filled with so much hatred on the part of others. _

_And now I need to make it right even if it's the last thing I ever do. That is the reason that I told you everything in the diner that day and that is the reason why I am giving you this book. But be careful who you show it to because not everyone who you think is on your side actually is. So all I ask is that you keep your guard up because you deserve for this whole thing to end in your favor. You are the only one who can stop them Spencer and the time has come for that to happen._

_So, enclosed in this book is everything that you will need to end this. This book is basically a written testament to everything that they have done. It is the only record that any wrong doing actually took place, and as far as they know I destroyed it after you had gotten out of prison. So, to them, this is simply my journal; but to you, this is proof of everything that has ever happened and when. Taped to the inside, back cover is a flash drive containing video of the crimes as well as documents that were forged for many purposes, but most importantly, the documents that they forged to put you in jail in the first place. _

_I know that I may never see you again but this is the only thing that I can give you that will even begin to make things right because you deserve to be happy. And I can tell that Ashley does that for you. She is an amazing person, Spencer, and I hope that you hold on to her because apart from you, I have never met another person so genuine and passionate when it comes to something they care about or someone that they love. I just wish I could apologize to her as well for all the years I spent lying to her about who I was and what had really happened to her friend. So if she is reading this with you then please tell her that I am truly sorry for everything that has happened. _

_Please remember that I love you, Spencer and I hope that one day, whether I am alive or not, you will be able to forgive me. Take care, baby girl and never give up the fight that lives inside of you._

_Love always,_

_Dad_

I fold the note back up and place it back in the crease of the book that apparently holds the key to me getting my life back. And I just thought it was his stupid journal. But no…My father just handing me my smoking gun and I'm not entirely sure that I know what to do with it. I mean a small part of me is still skeptical about this because he did lie to me for so long and it wouldn't be completely far off to think that he's playing me again. But then I think about the sincerity in his eyes that day in the diner and I know that this is his way of helping me out without having to physically help me out at all. This was his new easy way out and I just wish that I didn't have to doubt it at all.

"Spencer?" Ashley says softly into my ear.

"Yeah?" I say turning to look into her eyes.

"What's going through that pretty little head of yours?" She asks tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

"Everything." I say quietly. "I mean he gave me everything, Ashley. And I guess I just never thought that my freedom would come in the form of revealing what is in this book."

She smiles and places a soft kiss on my lips.

"Well, are you ready to be free of all this?" She asks pulling me closer.

"I've been ready for ten years." I respond tiredly.

"Then let's take a look at what we got."


	53. Chapter 40 Part 1: Insight

**Hey everyone! Sorry it's been so long. I had a couple deaths in my family 3 days apart a while back and I just stopped writing for a bit. However, I feel bad because I've had these chapters written forever So I apologize for not posting them sooner. **

**Anyway, this is a 40 page chapter so far that's going to be broken up into parts because 40 pages is too long for one post. SO this is part 1 of I don't know how many...But this next group of chapters is going to give you a little bit of insight, hopefully tying things together better. :) And these chapters also change POVs quite a bit so just hang in there...I have my reasons... **

**For the record, this chapter is NC-17 but just a fair warning...I suck at writing smut, but I felt it kind of needed it. Usually I just imply that it happened but I figured what the hell... :) **

**Anyway, thank you all for reading this story again...your comments really keep me motivated. Enjoy. And I don't own anything but the story...**

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**Chapter 40.1: Insight NC-17**

**ASHLEY'S POV**

Where do I begin? On one hand I'm so happy that Spencer took me back after I walked out on her like I did. And on the other I'm upset because she shouldn't be this forgiving. I mean she's literally been to hell and back and I walked out on her just like everyone else did…AFTER I promised her I wouldn't. But she just forgave me. No real questions asked and I can't help but wonder what made me so deserving of this side of her. Because the last thing I feel is deserving of any of her attention let alone her love.

Now, you're probably wondering why I left in the first place. And the main reason would be that I'm a coward who can't deal well with extreme stress. I couldn't handle it. And I did the cowardly thing and walked out for no good reason at all. But, at the time it was what I needed to do. I needed to clear my head because if I couldn't be all there for myself, then I certainly couldn't be there for Spencer. And what I should have done was talk to her about what was going on with me. I should have opened up to her and trusted her because we should have dealt with this together.

I fucked up. I know that. And I'm going to spend the rest of my life making up for it if she'll let me. I just wish that she would yell at me or something. Tell me how horrible I am for leaving her when she needed me the most. Anything to show me it bothered her. Now, I know it hurt her really bad. I'm not that stupid. But it's like she just wants to forget the last few weeks ever happened. And maybe it's because of all the shit going on right now, but I know I did a shitty thing and I at least deserve to be yelled at for it.

I guess I just wish that she would talk to me about how she really felt instead of brushing it under the rug because it's clearly something we need to talk about for the sake of our relationship. We both need to express our feelings about this, honestly, because we're both going through it and dealing with shit and we need to let each other in on it. But, I suppose I can understand her wanting to wait. I mean she does have a lot on her mind.

When I came back and Taylor opened the door, to say she was surprised would be an understatement. I don't think anyone expected me to come back at all, but a part of me hopes that Spencer thought I would.

_I'm walking down the hall to Spencer's apartment and the butterflies in my stomach seem to keep growing with every step that I take. I have a million thoughts running through my head and none of them are doing anything to calm my nerves. I have no idea what to expect when that door opens, and honestly, I'm keeping my expectations low. After all, it's not like I don't deserve it. I wouldn't be surprised if the door was slammed in my face but I have to try. I have to at least see if Spencer will still allow me to be a part of her life even though I walked out on her because I need her. I always have and I always will but I let my head get the best of me and I took the easy way out. And now, I have to find a way to fix what I have broken. I just hope it's not too late. _

_As I reach her door I start shifting from side to side on my feet trying to get my nerves to calm down as I lift my hand and knock lightly on the door. As I wait, every passing second feels like an eternity so I take a deep breath to try and calm my nerves a little more as the door swings open and I come face to face with Taylor. Her eyes go wide in shock at seeing me before they narrow and her protective mode kicks in as she folds her arms across her body. The two of us are having a staring competition and even though she is intimidating the hell out me right now, she is what stands between me and Spencer and I can't back down. I know I'm going to have to convince her that I'm never going to hurt Spencer again. I know I'm going to have to convince her that I am here to stay and I'm ok with that because Spencer is worth so much more than whatever Taylor has to throw at me. _

_After a few minutes I hear Big Joe walk out of the kitchen after placing something on the counter._

"_T, who is it?" He asks coming into view behind Taylor and stopping when he sees me. "Ashley." He says evenly._

"_What are you doing here?" Taylor asks firmly._

"_I'm here to see Spencer." I say as evenly as I can._

_Taylor scoffs and looks over her shoulder at Joe who is staring me down. And I don't know who is more intimidating at this point but all I keep thinking is that I can get through this weird interrogation because I need to see Spencer. I need to see my heart. _

"_Now, why would we let you do that?" Taylor asks in a challenging manner._

"_Because I need to explain myself to her and I need to fix this mess that I have made." I say with conviction. "I need to let her know that I love her. I need her."_

"_You love her?" She asks condescendingly. "Really Ashley? You love her so much that you walked away from her when she needed you the most!"_

"_I know I messed up. I do, Taylor." I say pleadingly. "But I do love her. I do need her. She's everything to me and I was a coward. But I need to fix it. I need to make it right. And I can't do that unless you let me see her."_

"_And how do we know that you won't just leave her again, Ashley?"_

"_I won't." I say quickly. "I promise you. I won't."_

_I know I probably sound desperate and I don't care. I can feel the tears starting to well up in my eyes so I look down to the ground to try and maintain some control over my emotions. But it doesn't work as a tear rolls down my cheek. Taylor sighs heavily when she sees me and motions for me to come inside. I walk past her through the door and follow Joe into the living room. I figured that this was their way of saying that I could see Spencer but as I start making my way over to the stairs I am stopped by Taylor's hand on my shoulder. I turn around to look at Taylor with confusion clearly written across my face. _

"_Ashley, there's something you should know before we let you see her. That is if you don't know already." She says tiredly._

_I start to feel sick to my stomach at the thought of something happening to Spencer. _

"_What are you talking about? Did something happen to Spencer?" I ask with nervousness noticeably lacing my voice. "Did…did someone hurt her?"_

_Taylor looks over to Joe conveying some sort of cryptic message that clearly states their shock at my utter confusion, before turning back and locking her gaze back on mine. I know they may be apprehensive to tell me anything involving Spencer, but I can't go into this blinded and I know a part of them sees that._

"_Not directly, no." Taylor says as evenly as she can. "You might want to sit…"_

"_NO!." I say firmly. My nerves going a mile a minute. My heart aching to know the truth. "I don't want to sit! Just…just tell me what happened!"_

"_You really don't know?" Joe asks softly. Clearly sensing the frustration in my voice and trying to get me to relax. "I mean the media is having a field day with this and the timing of you coming back is just…"_

"_No Joe." I say tiredly. "Clearly I don't know what the hell you're talking about. I avoided the media like the plague while I was gone and now I'm beginning to regret it. So would someone please fill me in?" I say desperately as I sit on the back of the couch. "Please."_

_I know that I sound defeated and, honestly, I don't really care. I just want to know what they aren't telling me. I want to see Spencer. And I want this sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach to go away._

"_Arthur's dead." Taylor says softly after a few minutes of the purest silence I've known for a while._

_And now I want to kill everybody in this fucking town. Arthur's dead? What the fuck is going on? _

"_What?" I croak out barely above a whisper._

"_Three days ago he was found dead."_

"_Hanging in the bandstand like a ripped up puppet for everyone to see." Joe adds sitting next to me on the back of the couch._

"_I've never seen anything like it." Taylor continues. "But according to everyone who was there the night Maryanne died, it was an exact replication of the scene that night. All the way down to the puddle of blood on the floor."_

"_I think I'm going to be sick." I can only imagine what that day had to be like. What was going through Spencer's mind? Why'd I have to leave? I should have known that everything was going to get worse before it got better._

"_Ashley." Joe says getting my attention. "There's more."_

After that Taylor and Joe described everything in grave detail and the more I heard the bigger the queasy feeling in my stomach seemed to get. I felt like the worst person alive. I couldn't believe it. I didn't want to believe it, but I knew it was true. And when they told me that Spencer hadn't left her room for three days I felt like I wanted to vomit. I became so disgusted with myself that I had to find a way to compose myself before I went up the stairs to see the damage I had done to the woman I love. I started kicking myself for not being here to help her deal with this. And in that moment, I realized just how selfish I had been.

Now, I'm lying here next to her watching her sleep in my arms and all I can think about is how much I love her and want to protect her from all this pain. I can't change the fact that I left or anything that has happened. But I can keep my promise to never leave her again. And I fully intend on keeping that promise. I never want to see anything other than the calm look on her face that she has right now. I never want to see her in pain again. I never want to see her close herself off from the world because she doesn't deserve to be the one that's hiding from everything. She doesn't deserve any of this.

I place a soft kiss on the top of her head and she starts to stir as I pull her tighter against my body. She wraps her arm tighter around my waist as if she is holding onto me for dear life. And if she is then that's ok with me because I will always be here to hold her up whenever she feels like she's falling. She stirs a little more and I start rubbing small circles on her back because I want her to know that I'm still here and I'm not going anywhere.

After a few more minutes her eyes flutter open and lock on mine, causing a smile to form on my face when I see the pure calmness and contentment that seems to have over taken her features. She smiles back at me before placing a light kiss to my neck and laying her head down on my chest.

"Hi." She says softly; her voice still raspy from sleep. "What time is it?"

"Three am." I answer quietly into the darkness.

"Hmm." She says tiredly while tightening her grip on me and snuggling closer if that was even possible. "Go back to sleep."

"Can't sleep. There's too much going through my mind right now." I say honestly.

She lifts her head and rests her chin on my chest as her gaze meets mine again. I never wanted to wake her up because something tells me that she hasn't slept much over the last few days either. But, obviously that didn't happen. She looks at me with concern laced throughout her features and I know she's trying to silently figure out my thought process. Only problem with that though is that I don't think that she would ever be able to figure it out right now.

"What's wrong?" She asks softly. "What're you thinking about?"

I smile and wrap my arms tighter around her body.

"Nothing's wrong." I say placing a kiss on her forehead. "I'm just thinking about you…about us. About how I really don't deserve you."

"Ashley…"

"No, Spencer. I mean it." I say cutting her off before she could protest. "I was horrible to you and you just forgave me like it was nothing." She starts shaking her head 'no.' "And I know you have a lot going and don't want to deal with this right now but I don't want you to come back hating me after all of this."

She sighs visibly and tries to sit up but I hold her down. Once she realizes that I'm not letting her go anywhere she brings her hand up and lightly traces my jaw line.

"I could never hate you, Ash. I love you." I open my mouth to protest but she stops me by placing her index finger over my lips. "It's not like I forgot Ashley. I know we need to talk about this. I know that we need to honestly get past this. But, I have missed you so much that having you here again just seems to trump the conversation right now. But if you want to have it then we can because this relationship is about the two of us and I don't want it clouded by doubt."

I take a minute to compose my thoughts as I smile lightly at Spencer's calm composure. If it wasn't for the fact that I know she's slightly scared about everything, I might just think that she is the calmest person I know in the face of diversity. There's no doubt that she's the strongest but I've seen her temper and she is anything but calm about everything that is going on. She just knows how to keep it together long enough to get through each day. I just really wish it was all over so that she could move on. That's why it's important that I get this right. I don't want anything that I say to come out wrong or be perceived in the wrong way. The last thing I want is for her to have any doubts about the way I feel about her. And even though I know she does, because I walked out on her like everyone else, I can't blame her for putting on this façade because if the situations were reversed and she was the one who walked out on me, I would probably be the same way right about now. But I'm banking on the hope that our crazy love for one another is enough to overcome any doubts and fears we both may have. So why not start by asking the one question that's plaguing me.

"Do you think I'm gonna leave again?" I ask softly while tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Part of me does I guess." She answers in a whisper and I feel my heart constrict because I know I'm the one that did this to her. She clears her throat before continuing. "I guess I'm just worried that if I say the wrong thing or put too much on you then you're going to run again. So I've been avoiding it because having you here is more important."

I nod my head and lean forward slightly, placing a light kiss on her forehead.

"I'm really sorry for running out on you like that and I know that I sound like a broken record at this point but I don't think that I can say it enough." I start rubbing small circles on her back and smile slightly when I see her visibly relax in my arms. "I'm not going to leave you again, Spencer. I was a coward and instead of staying and dealing with everything together, I ran off because it was what I was used to…it was the easy way out." I release a breath I didn't realize I was holding and continue making sure to maintain our eye contact. "Growing up I never really had anyone to help me deal with my problems or life's unexpected twists. I was used to dealing with everything on my own. It was like second nature to me. And then you came along."

"Ash…" She starts but I mimic her actions from earlier and place my index finger over her lips to stop her before tightening my grip on her.

"Let me finish, Spence." I say softly and she just nods her head and waits for me to continue. "You changed everything. I have never felt for another person what I feel for you. And at first it scared me because the connection was so powerful. But, I told myself to go for it because I realized that if I just let you go then I may never feel this way again. I stopped listening to Kyla and everyone else and I got to know you on my own terms before I even knew anything. What they said didn't matter anymore. It never really did. And no one could have guessed that our connection ran deeper in more ways than one until all the pieces came together. It made me realize that I didn't need to run anymore as long as I have you. So, I can promise you two things. One, I will never leave you again no matter what. And two, I will always love you with everything that I am because you mean everything to me, Spencer. Everything!"

Silence resonates throughout the room as her beautiful blue eyes stare deeply into my own. I release a slow, jagged breath that I didn't realize I had been holding while she seemingly searches my eyes for the sincerity and honesty in my words. I know she is still a little skeptical but I can only hope that she sees the truth behind every word that I spoke. I don't know what I would do if she didn't believe me. I don't know that I could take it. And as the seconds tick slowly by I can feel the pounding of my heart speed up and it feels like it could pound right out of my chest. She really is everything to me and I just can't lose her. After a few long minutes I start to think that maybe I shouldn't have pushed her to have this talk because she still hasn't said anything. But just as I'm about to move and give her some space, she lifts her arms to wrap her arms around my neck with a small smile forming on her face. A sense of relief washes over me because I knew that she had heard the honesty in every word I spoke and that is all that matters to me in this moment.

She leans up slowly and places a feather light kiss on my lips before pulling back slightly and meeting my gaze once again. I feel my own smile get bigger as I lean in the short distance and capture her lips once again in a searing kiss filled with pure emotion. Each of us conveying to the other just what we mean to each other as our lips glide in sync. I flip our positions so that she's lying beneath me and bite down gently on her bottom lip before smoothing it over with my tongue, asking for entrance. She is quick to grant it and the second our tongues touch in a battle of exploration and dominance, I feel a fire ignite inside of me and I push my body more firmly into hers, eliciting a moan that reverberates throughout my entire body. Her hands slowly move from my neck down to my waist before sliding under the hem of my shirt and lightly scratching across the bare skin of my lower back. We break apart for air when breathing becomes an issue but I quickly begin trailing kisses down her jaw line to her neck as I begin sucking on her pulse point and biting down gently before smoothing the mark over with my tongue. She knows I'm marking her and she doesn't care. I want to mark her as mine. I want the whole world to know that she's my girl and I'm never letting go again.

She grabs my hair and pulls me back up to bring our lips together once again. Our clothed bodies molding together causing sensations to course through our veins that neither of us have ever felt before. And I think that if I was to die right now it would be the perfect way to go because I would be in the arms of the woman I love. It has been far too long since we have been this way and all it does is make me wonder what the hell I was thinking when I walked out that door. If she hadn't taken me back I would never have felt this way again and I can't believe how stupid I was. And how lucky I am to have this amazing girl still love me after everything I have done.

I feel her tug at the hem of my shirt and without hesitation I sit up a bit because I know what she wants and I am going to give it to her. She lifts my shirt over my head and throws it off to the side as I quickly rid her of her shirt and unclasp her bra before quickly taking off my own and looking down into her heavy lidded eyes. I trace her jaw line with my index finger before leaning down and capturing her lips in another earth shattering kiss. Her hands fly up and tangle in my hair as she pushes me down into her. Our naked torso's coming into contact for the first time in weeks, causing a deep throaty moan to escape through our kiss. I start rocking my hips into her making her arch into my touch as I bring one hand up to cup her left breast. Her scent is intoxicating to me and all I want to do is feel her.

I bring my hand down to the waist band of her shorts and silently ask for permission to take them off. She nods her head slightly and I waste no time ridding her of the rest of her clothes before quickly removing my own. I slowly crawl back up her body kissing her everywhere along the way except where she needs me the most. Tonight I want to do this together. I want it to be raw because anything less would seem inadequate. My center is now hovering slightly over hers. Our jagged breaths the only sound echoing in the room. I lean down and kiss her plump lips softly before sliding my hand down in between us and separating her folds as I bring our centers into contact. I start to rock my hips again and our clits rub together in perfect harmony. She arches off the bed and pushes her hips into mine trying to get more contact. It's not going to take either of us long to go over the edge. I quicken my place slightly as she digs her nails into my back, causing me to release a guttural moan.

"God, Ashley." She pants out.

I go a little faster and I know I'm close. She feels so good. Our bodies covered in a light sheen of sweat. Her breaths become quicker and I know she's only seconds away from toppling over the edge as she slams her eyes shut when I tweak her nipple in my hand.

"Open your eyes, baby." I whisper through jagged breaths before laying a gentle kiss on her neck and looking into her beautiful eyes.

She's looking directly into my soul as our bodies collide one last time, sending us over the edge. We scream each other's name into the darkness of the room as waves of pleasure continue to wash over us.

Once our breathing evens out a little more, I lean down and kiss her firmly on the lips before moving off of her and pulling her into me. I wrap my arms around her neck and place a light kiss on her bare shoulder as she settles into me. I feel my eyes get heavy and I know that sleep is going to overcome me soon. I just want to savor this moment for all its worth because as far as I'm concerned it can't get much better than this, especially when I have my girl in my arms.

"Ash?" She whispers sleepily into the night.

"Yeah baby?" I say pulling her even closer.

"You mean everything to me too." She says entwining my hand with hers clutching it to her chest.

I feel a smile cross my face as I place another kiss to her neck before resting my head in the crook of her neck and letting sleep over come me.

* * *

**SHERIFF WHITELY'S POV**

"Sir, we've been at this for three days straight. We all need some sleep. Why can't…"

"Why can't you just leave?" I say in a raised voice cutting off the Deputy. "You can't leave because this is a murder investigation and I will not allow it to get messed up like it did last time."

"But Sir, shouldn't we all be working with clear heads?" The deputy says motioning his hands over the paperwork.

"Look. We need to finish this research tonight and then you can all go home for a few hours and get some sleep. It's important that we don't leave any stone unturned. Understand? Innocent lives are at stake."

"Why do you believe that she was innocent?" He asks with curiosity laced in his voice.

I pinch the bridge of my nose and look around the room of Deputies and Detectives that are working on the case.

"None of you were here when Maryanne died. It's not a matter of believing that she was innocent. It's a matter of knowing she was and doing nothing to stop it. I'm just as guilty as the Mayor and everyone else. But my hands were tied. They got to the crime scene before I was able to and every piece of evidence pointed to her. I didn't have a choice then nor did I have the support to have the evidence looked over again. But that's changed now and I'm not going to allow them to do this to her again. Why else do you think that I put this team together? It wasn't because I didn't have other options. It was because I knew that you all hadn't been tainted by those people. I knew that you guys would put honest work into getting it right. That girl has been through hell and back without anyone there to help her or protect her. And this time, I refuse to turn my back."

"So…everything she's been saying is true then?" One of the detectives asks.

"All of it." I say tiredly.

I look around the room and I can see the pure exhaustion laced throughout their features. I wish that I didn't need to ask this of them but I know that the longer it takes to get this investigation done, the more time they have to try and botch it in one way or another. And I can't let that happen. It's time that things settled down here and people were allowed to live their lives without the fear of keeping up with the Mayor's demands. After a few long minutes, Detective Rawlings stands up with his file in his hands and makes his way over to the board.

"Ok guys. Let's finish this. A couple more hours and then we can go home and rest."

"All right. Let's do it." Deputy Wilkins says.

I shoot them both a small smile as the room gets back to work before heading into my office to check out the coroner's report on my desk. I've been so busy trying to get a timeline down that I haven't even had the chance to look at it. Taking a seat at my desk I remove the papers from the envelope and start flipping through them. With each turn of the page my blood runs cold. I cannot even begin to imagine what kind of hateful person it takes to do something like this. And when I reach the last page my jaw drops in shock.

"You have got to be kidding me!" I say to no one in particular as I quickly put the papers back in the envelope and run out the door letting the people in the room know that I'm following up on a lead as I continue running out to my car.

I throw the file onto the passenger's seat as I start the engine and speed out of the parking lot. Now, it's my turn for answers and I don't care if it is the crack of dawn...I will get them.


	54. Chapter 40 Part 2: More Insight

**Okay here's part 2 to the massive chapter...I hope you like it! As always feel free to let me know what you think. I like all kinds of criticism, good and bad. It's what keeps me going. Again the POVs are going to change quite a bit...but here you go! **

**Harley Quinn Davidson: First off, thank you and I'm glad that you're still enjoyng it. I am doing better now. It was just lot to take in at the time. But writing again is definitely helping :) I hope you like this installment. This big chapter breakup is going to let you know know what's in the notebook...so just bear with me...it's coming :)**

**imaferrari: Thank you for your kind words. It took some time to deal but I'm getting better each day. And again, writing really helps. What's in the notebook and what the sheriff found out is coming up...I swear it's in this massive chapter that I've had written forever...I just don't know where to stop the chapter so breaking it up seemed like a good option. Anyway, hope you enjoy it! **

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**Chapter 40.2: More Insight**

**KYLA'S POV**

I'm pacing by the window in my bedroom, the moon shining its faint light through the glass while Aiden sleeps soundly in our bed. How the hell he can sleep at a time like this is beyond me. I mean our problems have gotten exponentially bigger with my father being murdered and he acts like he doesn't even care. Someone is out to get us and I want to know who that someone is. I'm almost positive that it's Spencer playing some stupid fucking game and if this is her revenge then I will make it my priority to bury her. This was never part of the plan. My father was never supposed to be brought into this but clearly someone wanted to shut him up. The question is who? I cannot believe that we lost the upper hand. Right now the only thing we have going for us is the fact that Ashley is gone and Spencer's heart is broken. I haven't seen her walking around town so she must be holed up in her apartment. And that little bit of information brings a smile to my face because her heart is broken and she is undoubtedly weak again because healing a broken heart can take a lot out of a person. So, at least something positive came out of this.

But even though she's at her weakest right now, she most likely has a lot of anger stored up so I'm going to have to give it a little time before confronting her about the notebook. I still have no idea why my father would give her his journal. What they hell could she possibly get out of reading it? It just doesn't make any sense. It should have gone to me. She doesn't deserve it. She doesn't deserve anything, especially with all the shit she's pulling now by digging up the past. I need to get my hands on it and get it out of her possession. I don't know why but I do. I think my father made a mistake in giving it to her when it's rightfully mine.

I look over to the clock and notice that it's nearly six thirty in the morning. The suns starting to come up but she's probably still sleeping so I might be able to sneak in there and grab the book without her ever noticing I was there at all. And if she is awake then I will just find another way to get to it. Maybe I can use the sisterly bond to get into her head. After all, there's nothing like the ability to manipulate another person's emotions when they are all vulnerable and more willing to let people in.

I walk over to my closet and grab pair of jeans and a hooded sweatshirt, before throwing them on as quickly and quietly as possible so that I don't wake up Aiden. I then grab some socks out of the dresser drawer and my shoes, quietly putting those on as well before grabbing my keys off the nightstand and making my way to the door. Just as I'm about to open the door I hear Aiden shift in the bed.

"Kyla, what are you doing?" He asks sleepily. "Come back to bed."

"I can't sleep so I figured I would go out and get us some coffee and some breakfast."

"Fine…just don't be gone long. We have a meeting at eight thirty."

"I know. I'll be back in time." I say walking over to the bed and placing a kiss on his forehead before walking out the bedroom door and out of the house.

Something tells me that getting that journal away from Spencer is going to be the best decision I have ever made.

* * *

**SHERIFF WHITLEY'S POV**

I'm pulling up to Kyla's house when I see her pull out of the driveway in her car. Where the hell is she going this early in the morning? Instead of stopping to talk with Aiden I decide to follow Kyla to see what she is up to. I don't trust that girl for good reason and anything that she is doing this early just simply cannot be good. So I follow her through town, being sure to stay a couple car lengths back.

Once we hit the town square I notice that she is driving in the direction of Spencer's apartment building and now my curiosity has gotten the best of me because I can't help but wonder what she is up to. She pulls up to the curb outside of the apartment building and hops out of the car. She takes in her surroundings before making her way to the front door. I wait a couple minutes before parking my car a half a block away and making my way into the building. I want to know what Kyla's up to because I am definitely not going to put up with her shit today or any other day for that matter. That girl is skating on some serious thin ice right now and I'll be damned if I have a modern day local rendition of World War Three on my hands.

I walk into the lobby and the first thing I notice is that it is eerily silent. I decide to take the stairs up to Spencer's floor because I don't want to risk anyone hearing the elevator if they are standing outside. Any reason that has Kyla walking in here can't be a good one and I know she has been going stir crazy about Arthur's stupid journal because she keeps pleading with me to get it back and give it to her because apparently she thinks that she is entitled to it. It kind of has me wondering what the hell is in it. Arthur didn't tell me anything when he handed it to me. All he said was that if something should happen to him then I needed to make sure it got to Spencer. I thought it was just his personal journal that you would always find him writing in and that maybe it held some answers for Spencer as to why he did what he did. But now I think it's more than that.

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**SPENCER'S POV**

I stretch my legs out as my eyes open slowly and adjust to the early morning sun shining through the window. I feel my body being pulled tightly into the person behind me as her arm wraps more securely around my waist and I can't stop the small smile that flashes across my face as I remember the events that took place a few hours ago and realize that it wasn't just a dream. Ashley is really here and I truly believe her when she says that she isn't going to run again. I know now that we are going to be ok because through everything we have always found each other and that's got to stand for something.

I roll over onto my back slowly trying not to wake her and place a soft kiss on her cheek before just looking at the softness in her features as she lay peacefully beside me. It's been far too long since I've gotten to see the serenity that lines her features when she sleeps and I know that I feel the same level of safeness when I am fast asleep beside her because when we are in each other's arms nothing can tear us apart. I try to move her arm and slip out of the bed undetected but the second I go to lift her arm, her eyes flutter open and a look of confusion briefly crosses her face as she wakes up. I bring my hand up and tuck a strand of hair behind her ear before leaning in and placing a soft kiss on her lips.

"Good morning." I whisper softly.

"Mmm…good morning." She says sleepily. "What time is it?"

I lift my head to look at the clock on the nightstand before bringing it back down to the pillow and looking into her eyes.

"Quarter past seven."

She lets out a grunt before tightening her grip on me once again.

"Why are you up? Go back to sleep." She says closing her eyes again while trying to fight the grin forming on her lips.

"I would." I start slowly. "But then I wouldn't see your beautiful face until I woke up again and right now that just isn't acceptable."

She laughs a little at my comment before opening her eyes again and placing a quick kiss to my lips before sitting up in the bed. I know the comment was corny but who cares? Right?

"Well in that case, I don't want to sleep anymore either."

"What...are you going to go look in the mirror?"

"Very funny…Spence….but alas I am not that vain."

"Pity."

She just shakes her head chuckling as she leans in for another kiss. I sit up with my back against the headboard and look into her eyes with a slight smile on my face.

"So…what's going on today?" She asks as she starts playing with my hand.

"Well I have to figure out what to do with all of this information because I need to make sure the right person finds out and not someone who's working for them."

"Taylor got any ideas?"

"She doesn't even know. I haven't been out of the room for like three days so I'm pretty sure that me rising from this cocoon is going to be quite the shock for them."

A frown replaces her smile and she looks down at our hands.

"I really am sorry, Spence." She says softly.

I reach my free hand over and lift her chin so that her gaze meets mine again.

"Enough of that Ash." I start. She tries to move her head but I hold it firmly in place. "None of this is your fault."

"But Spence…"

"No but's…okay?" I say keeping my gaze locked on hers. "We're past that remember. No more feeling guilty for something you can't control. I know you feel like you should have been here, but Ash, you're here now and that's all that matters…got it?" I say firmly.

She seems to think about it for a moment before shaking her head in agreement. I smile brightly and place a quick kiss on her lips before hopping off the bed.

"Good. Now let's get dressed and grab some breakfast. We have a busy day ahead of us."

I start walking into the bathroom to take a shower only to be stopped by two arms wrapping around me from behind and a light kiss being placed on my shoulder. I turn around in her arms wrapping my own arms around her neck as hers remain on my waist and walk backwards the rest of the way into the bathroom dragging her with me. I know that today is going to be busy with all of the information that I have to share and figure out what to do with, but no one ever said it was crime to have a little fun first.

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**KYLA'S POV**

I'm pacing the hall outside of Spencer's apartment trying to figure out a plan B because when I got to the door I heard people moving around inside so picking the lock and sneaking in is definitely not an option anymore. I mean why can't anything just be easy for once? All this being sneaky crap is getting a little exhausting and now I'm going to have to pretend like I actually care that Spencer's heart is broken. I figure that may be my only way in because the whole turning a new leaf thing could be bought if I can play it right. Besides it's not like she's just going to hand the journal over if I ask for it. I'm not that stupid. The question is how do I get her to believe that I'm sincere in wanting to be there for her while she's going through this difficult time?

Maybe I can work my father's death into the angle. You know I can pretend that I want to end this stupid feud because dad's death was senseless and he wouldn't want us to be fighting. I can tell her that I'm tired of everything and suck it up and apologize for everything. Maybe she would buy that. I highly doubt it but it's worth a shot. Besides I only have a little over an hour before the meeting so I have to make this quick. Get in and get out. Otherwise we're all screwed.

I walk up to the door with my plan set in my head and knock loudly on the door before stepping back a few feet and waiting for someone to answer. It only takes a few seconds before I hear the lock on the door click and it's swung open by that Taylor chick.

"Yeah?" She says frustrated as her eyes settle on me and her eyebrows raise in question.

"I want to see Spencer." I say evenly.

"Uh huh…and what makes you think that that's going to happen any time this century?" She says with amusement in her voice and I know that she is not going to make this easy.


	55. Chapter 41:Pictures Say a Thousand Words

**Well, it seems as though I'm back. Of course this should have been updated ages ago but life got severely in the way. Nonetheless, I promised to finish this story and that is what I am going to do for those of you who are still interested. :) Thank to all of you who have reviewed recently and previously. Your feedback has literally given me the inspiration to not quit on this story. Well, and I also have issues where I hate to leave things incomplete even if it takes me forever to finish them. But anyway, I hope you enjoy.**

**And Just because it's been a while...I still don't own SON. Never have, never will but I do own the story. **

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**Chapter 41: Pictures Say a Thousand Word**

**SHERIFF WHITELY'S POV**

Next time I want to be all stealth like someone seriously needs to remind me that climbing fifteen flights of stairs when you haven't worked out in years is equivalent to some medieval torture from the eighteen hundreds. Seriously I should've just set up some bugs or something on a previous trip to save me the hassle. Although I suppose the insight will be worth it. Guess I'll just have to see if my trip up the stairs from hell pays off.

Once I get to the top floor I take a second to get my breathing under control before I open the door from the stairwell quietly so no one can hear me. As I go to round the corner I come to an abrupt stop when I hear Kyla talking to Taylor and peek my head around so that I can see what's going on without them noticing that I'm there.

"Look Taylor." Kyla says sounding defeated. "I just want to see her. I want to apologize for all the shit I've done. I mean our father's dead because of this mess and he wouldn't want us acting this way. Above everything else she's my sister and I want to be a part of her life again." _Yeah right. Even I wouldn't buy that._

"Sorry, Kyla. Not buying it." Taylor says sternly with a dark glare in her eye. "Try again."

"I'm not trying anything. I just want to apologize okay. I want to be there for her because we all know that no one else is and I know that she's hurting right now. I mean between our dad getting murdered and Ashley walking out on her, I know she must be having a tough time."

She's good but she isn't that good. Kyla is one sneaky little bitch, and I believe she might just have a real change of attitude once I talk to her. But I'm going to wait it out a little longer before I step in because I want to see where this goes. It's like getting insight to an untouchable situation. And quite frankly I need all the ammo I can get. Everyone is breathing down my back to let this go but I refuse. I can't let that girl down again. I wouldn't be able to live with myself this time.

"Still not buying it Kyla." Taylor says as Joe walks up behind her. "Why don't you just run on home and find someone else's life to ruin because you're done messing with hers."

"Look Taylor…"

"No…you look, Kyla." Taylor says cutting her off. "You're not getting in to see her so just leave…now!"

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**SPENCER'S POV**

I've been listening to Kyla and Taylor's conversation for a few minutes now from the hallway. Once me and Ashley got dressed, I opened the door and heard them talking loudly to each other. Neither one of them seem like they're going to budge and now my curiosity is peaked. I know why Kyla is really here. I'm not that stupid or naïve to think that she actually wants to work things out with me. I know that all she really wants is the journal. Like that is ever going to happen. Still…it's amusing to watch her try. I turn to Ashley who is now standing in the doorway to my bedroom.

"Hey Ash? Did you tell anyone that you're back?" I whisper.

"No. The only people that know are you, Taylor, and Joe." She whispers back.

I nod my head as the wheels in my mind start turning. I know Kyla really has no idea that Ashley's back and I begin to understand her reason for throwing that into the equation because really what normal person doesn't want their family to be there for them when their heart is broken? But unfortunately for Kyla I'm not one of those people, which was definitely going to make this whole thing even better when she did see that Ashley was back and that we were good. She must have really thought that her plan worked. Now, my only problem is going to be making sure that nothing happens to Ashley because her coming back is going to be seen as nothing less than betrayal in their eyes. But I have no intention of letting them get within 10 feet of her without me knowing about it.

""Why don't you let Spencer decide, Taylor!" I hear Kyla say angrily. "She is a big girl after all. I'm sure she doesn't need you holding her hand."

"You're right. She doesn't. But either way you are not getting in this apartment." Taylor replies evenly and I turn to Ashley.

"Stay right here, Baby. I'm going to go down there but I don't want her seeing you yet."

"Ok." She says as I start to make my way down the stairs.

I know that Ashley knows what's at stake here. I know that she knows that once everyone finds out that she's back things could potentially get ugly. But I also hope she knows that I will never let anything happen to her.

As I make my way downstairs I can start to feel the thick tension in the room. And as I spot Kyla on the other side of the door I would swear that you could see the steam rolling off of her. Her face is red with anger and I know that Taylor is getting to her. She doesn't even know Taylor so I know that she's pissed that this unknown girl is getting in the way. No one knows that I came downstairs yet so I take a deep breath before making my presence known.

"What are we asking me?" I say emotionless as all eyes turn to me.

I have to at least pretend like my heart is shattered into a million pieces or Kyla will know something is up. I look into Taylor's eyes secretly conveying a message that she receives right away. She knows what I'm trying to do and it is moments like this that make me thankful to have her as a best friend above everything else. It's kind of nice sometimes that she can read me so well and it can really come in handy.

"Spencer, I want to talk to you." Kyla says taking a step forward.

"Why?"

"Because…this is stupid." Kyla says sympathetically. "Us fighting is stupid…and quite frankly I miss my sister."

"Uh-huh." I say blankly. _Who the hell is she trying to fool?_

"Look." She says taking another step forward and if I didn't hate her I might congratulate her on her dramatic performance so far. "I know that you probably don't believe a word that is coming out of my mouth. I know that you probably think that I'm just out to get something. But I'm not. No one even knows I'm here." She pauses for a moment as her voice cracks before locking her gaze back on mine. "It's just…I want to get it back. I want us to be the way that we used to be before we let all the bullshit come between us. I…"

"That ship has sailed Kyla." I say cutting her off.

"I know. But I want to be here for you. I know that you're going through a tough time. More so than me right now because let's face it, getting your heart broken sucks. And I just want to be that person that you go to again. I want to apologize properly for all the shit I've put you through. I just want to make it right, Spencer. We're family and that should come before anything else."

Her eyes are pleading with me to believe this asinine story of hers and a part of me wants to play along but I know that that wouldn't go over well. Mainly because I know that she's after something and that something is most likely the book my father gave me. She's pissed that I have it and I know that she wants it back. She wanted it the second Sheriff Whitely handed it over to me. And the funny part is, she doesn't even know what's in it because if she did, she would just skip the pleasantries and try to steal it by sneaking in or something. I mean let's face it, my sister hasn't changed all that much and I know that the only reason she is being nice to me right now is because she's terrified of what I'm going to do.

We were never super close because she was always jealous of the relationship that I had with my father. But we tolerated each other and we got along well enough not to kill each other. But she's got to be extremely crazy if she thinks that I am going to believe her right now. After everything that's happened there isn't a person on the planet that could make me believe a word that she ever speaks again.

"My heart is fine Kyla." I say sternly. "And I don't need you because all that ever comes out of playing nice with you is a headache that never goes away."

"But Spencer…" She pleads.

"No, Kyla. I don't buy what you're trying to sell me because the fact is we were never really that close. You made it your mission in life to bring me down and now that your world is falling apart you want to fix something that was broken long before any of this other stuff came into play."

She goes to say something but I put my hand up to stop her.

"We can't be fixed Kyla. I didn't cause all of these problems…you did. And, I'm sorry, but it's about time that you grew up and fucking dealt with it. Karma's a bitch Kyla, and maybe you should of thought of all of this when you were leading the pack to hang me out to dry."

She looks a little taken back by my words. I don't think that she was expecting me to be this cold towards her. But she can't really think that I would buy her bullshit after everything that she's done to me. Her eyes are boring into my own and I can't help but wonder what she thinks she's going to see reflected in mine. She never could read me and she never will but I guess that isn't going to stop her from trying. She's just going to have to figure out some other way to get to me because at this rate she's just digging her own grave. And not for nothing but there isn't a chance in hell that I would talk to her about anything, let alone the affect that my father's death has had on me.

I'm willing to bet that she thought I was heartbroken because Ashley left. And I was until she came back last night but Kyla doesn't know that and the longer I can keep everyone in the dark about that fact the better things are going to turn out. I don't need them trying to make a statement because if they tried anything with Ashley, I would not be able to be held responsible for my ensuing actions.

"Spencer…" Kyla says softly, pulling me away from my thoughts.

"What?" I say irritated.

"Can't we just try?" She pleads rather pathetically and this whole song and dance we're doing is reaching the point of exhausting.

"Kyla…stop." I say moving forward slightly. "Stop playing this stupid game. I don't know who you think I am these days but there isn't anything in this world that you could say that would make me even want to consider getting somewhat of a relationship back. So, just go."

"You can't do this." She says with slight anger in her voice. "You can't."

"I can, Kyla."

"Leave her alone, Kyla." I hear someone say and look up to see Sheriff Whitely walking down the hall.

What? Did everyone just decide that today was a good day to stop by or something? Because honestly I have better shit to do than deal with this right now. Kyla turns toward Sheriff Whitely and I hear her mutter something under her breath.

"What are you doing here?" She asks him, clearly annoyed.

"I was about to ask you the same thing." He says coming to a stop in front of her.

"That's none of your business." She says defensively.

"Well…I'm making it my business and I think it would be best if you just go." He says sternly. "Now!"

I hear her scoff before looking back at me. "Whatever. I have somewhere to be anyway."

And with that she walks down the hallway as I move my gaze to Sheriff Whitely. I still don't know why he's here but I want to know why the hell my apartment has become the center of random visitation today.

"So what are you doing here, Sheriff?" I ask calmly once Kyla is out of sight.

"I followed Kyla." He answers simply.

"Why?"

"Because I drove over there to talk to her and Aiden but when I saw her pull out of the driveway I wanted to know what she was doing. She's been bugging me about the journal and I didn't want her causing problems."

"I guessed as much." I say with a slight shake of my head. "Was there something else then?" I asked.

"Can I come in?" He asks and I become acutely aware that Ashley is still upstairs but I can't exactly say no to the man. He has been helping me out a bit.

I nod my head and turn to walk into the living room with Sheriff Whitely, Taylor, and Joe following closely behind. I take a seat on the couch as everyone else sits down and I have an internal debate with myself on whether or not to tell him about Ashley. I know that he wouldn't intentionally do anything to get her hurt but I just don't want the wrong person to find out. Nevertheless he has been the only person in this town who is actively trying to help me out, other than Mrs. Wyatt and on some level he deserves to know everything otherwise he won't be able to protect anyone when the time comes. I just don't know what to do. I'm not a hundred percent sure that I can trust him but I'm not a hundred percent sure that I can't either. And that's what sucks. But maybe if I tell him, he'll be more willing to help me. Because with the information in my father's journal, I'm going to need all the trustworthy help I can get.

"Spencer…" He starts after sitting in silence for a few minutes but I cut him off.

"Sheriff, there's something you should know first." I say unevenly as I look to Taylor and Joe for confirmation that I'm doing the right thing and when they both nod their heads in approval I breathe a sigh of relief.

"Okay…what's up?" He sounds so unsure.

"Turn around." I say as I see Ashley walk over to the railing.

Sheriff Whitely turns around and his eyes go wide once he catches sight of Ashley. She walks down the stairs and takes the seat next me, keeping her eyes locked on his the whole way. To say that he is shocked to see her is an understatement. I'm pretty sure that everyone was literally under the impression that she was gone for good. I mean I thought I was having a dream last night when she came into my room and I'm still having a little trouble grasping the concept that she actually came back to me, because that is something that I'm simply not used to. Usually, once people leave, they leave for good. But she didn't and it only makes me love her that much more.

Once the initial shock wears off, Sheriff Whitely finds his voice.

"You're back." He says as calmly as he can.

"I'm back." She replies evenly as she laces her hand with mine.

"When?" He inquires further.

"Last night." She says quietly. "I…I realized that I was running away from the only person who ever really meant anything to me and I needed to try and get her back."

"Does anybody else know that you're back?"

"No. Only you guys."

Sheriff Whitely nods his head in understanding as he seems to be trying to wrap his head around the situation. And I just wish that I had the ability to read minds because that man is like a brick wall when it comes to his thought process. I just really hope that he sees the gravity of the situation and keeps his cool. After a few minutes he looks back up to me.

"We shouldn't tell them yet." He says seriously and I release the breath that I was holding in anticipation of his response. "This could cause so many more issues, Spencer. Everyone thinks she broke your heart. Which I know she did but no one expected her to come back. From what I understand the whole heartbreaking thing was planned."

"I know." I say cutting him off. "And it was planned but not really. She was kind of working both sides. Her leaving had nothing to do with the plan, Sheriff. But I agree that they shouldn't find out that she's back yet. And if it's alright with you I would like to keep it just between the five of us in this room."

"I can do that." He says matter-of-factly.

"Okay then. Thank you." I say giving him a small smile. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

Sheriff Whitely brings his attention back to me and releases a deep breath as he reaches in his jacket pocket and pulls out a rolled up manila envelope, ringing it in his hands. For a second I get nervous because I'm thinking that maybe he's going to arrest me again, but then I remember that an arrest warrant is a smaller piece of paper and if he was going to arrest me he would have done it already. He scans the room, seemingly making sure that he has everyone's attention, although he seems to be slightly apprehensive at the thought that other people are here with us. When he locks his gaze back on mine I give him a reassuring nod and gently squeeze Ashley's hand. I know that whatever he has to say is going to be interesting, but I also know that this is probably not the way that he wanted to talk to me.

"Spencer…" He starts glancing down at the envelope still twisting in his hands. "How well do you know Aiden?"

I'm a little taken aback by the question because me and Aiden grew up together and he knows that. To say I'm slightly confused right now would be an understatement.

"Umm…what do you mean?" I ask questionably.

"I mean how well do you really know him?" He brings his eyes back up to meet mine. "Family wise."

"Well…I grew up with him and dated him. So I like to think I know him pretty well. Family and all."

"Did he ever bring you to family functions? Did he ever introduce you to Aunts and Uncles? Ever do anything at one of the summer parties that seemed odd? Anything like that?"

And now I'm even more confused. What the hell does Aiden's family have to do with anything? And Aiden was always odd. Before any of this happened, he was always the quiet one. The shy one. Then we started dating and about six months later he started to change. I never thought of it as odd, though, because I figured he was just growing into the man he was supposed to be. But, maybe I was wrong…or at least that's what I'm thinking with this line of questioning.

"Umm…nothing that I would say was out of the ordinary. But Sheriff, I don't understand what any of that has to do with anything."

He unfolds the envelope and hands it over to me. I look at it and notice that it came from the coroner's office care of the crime lab so it must be the final report on my father's death. I turn the envelope over and slowly pull out the papers as Sheriff Whitely begins to talk again.

"I want you to take a look at the last page of that report and tell me what you see."

I pull the last page from the back of the stack and look away quickly when I realize it's a picture of my father at the morgue.

"Go on." He says quietly as I take a deep breath and look back to the picture.

I strain to see what he's talking about but I don't notice anything that shouldn't be there. That is until I look at the bottom right of the picture where his lower abdomen is. I see what looks like a birth mark that I never noticed before. Or maybe it was just because I never really cared.

"Umm…are you talking about the birth mark?" I ask looking back up at him.

"Yes….and" He says pulling out another piece of paper from his inside pocket. "…That's not a birth mark."

"Ok?" I ask curiously. "What is it then?"

"Here." He says handing me the new piece of paper.

I look at it and my eyes go wide. It's a blown up picture of that area and what it shows takes my breath away. It's a tiny circle with a small scorpion in the middle of it. I would recognize that symbol anywhere.

"It's a brand." I say softly. "I haven't seen it in forever but I would know that symbol anywhere. Aidan's family used it to brand their horses. Kind of like a homing device. But why can you see it and more importantly, why is it on my father?"

"For the same reason that it was on Maryanne." He says throwing another paper down on the coffee table.

"Wait. What?" I say snapping my eyes back to his.

* * *

**ASHLEY'S POV**

I think I'm going to be sick….again. I'm staring at the pictures of Arthur and Maryanne that Sheriff Whitely threw down on the table and I don't think that I understood the scope of how brutal their murders were until just now. I mean how sick do you have to be to take the time to carve the patterns so intricately into their bodies and basically slice them in half without going all the way through. How evil do you have to be to just gut someone and stab them dozens of times in ways that made them suffer so severely? I've never seen anything like it and …yet…here I am entranced by the photos in front of me. Photos that I never in a million years would have thought that I would ever have to lay eyes on. And then to see that they were both branded? That's simply maniacal.

I look over to Spencer as she brushes her finger over the blown up picture of the brands on their lower right abdomen and I see her brows furrow in confusion. What's the point of branding someone if they're already dead? Unless…it was somehow done before they died and that would mean that they were marked for death which is even more disturbing.

Spencer looks up and it seems as though a light bulb has gone off in her head. She remembers something but I'm not sure what it could be. She snaps her gaze over to Sheriff Whitely, who has been waiting patiently for her to process this.

"Were these done post or pre-mortem?" She asks softly.

"Pre-mortem." Sheriff Whitely states confidently. "Which means…"

"They were alive when they were branded." She cuts him off softly.

Spencer stands up and walks behind the couch, moving her left hand to cover her lower right abdomen. Please don't let her say what I think she's going to say because nothing good will come from this.

"Spencer?" Sheriff Whitely asks cautiously. "What's going on?"

* * *

**SPENCER'S POV**

I feel like my body has entered some weird catatonic state. It's as if I am in some kind of trance. My mind is being bombarded with memories of the past. The pictures on the table burning in my mind as I analyze every inch of the gruesome scenes over and over. I can't stop it. I have no control over it anymore.

To say it's pissing me off would be the understatement of the century. I need to be in control of my own emotions. I should at least have that if nothing else. But I don't. I know I should have trusted my gut back then. I should have known better than to believe anything that came out of Aiden's mouth. But when Aiden and I started dating I was fifteen years old and all I wanted was to believe in something real. I mean the only reason we even dated was because my parents basically pushed us together since we always hung out and I figured that it was worth a shot. But I was wrong. I was so painfully wrong and now I just wish that I had opened up my damn eyes and saw him for who he really was.

"Spencer?"

From the outside looking in Aiden was the push over of the group. He was the one that seemingly just went along for the ride. He was the shy, charismatic one who kept to himself in public and only let loose on special occasions or when he was around us. He was the boy that all of the other boys looked up to and all of the parents adored. But they didn't know about the monster underneath it all. They didn't know the brutal truth that lay behind the sweet exterior and I wanted nothing more than to reveal it all for the world to see.

"Spencer?" Sheriff Whitely says a little louder effectively bring me out of my thoughts.

"They played us all." She says quietly. "If my father and Maryanne have that brand, everyone involved has to have that brand."

"But you don't…" Sheriff Whitely starts before I cut him off by lifting up the right corner of my shirt.

"They were never going to let either of us live originally." I say walking over to the desk and pulling out a magnifying glass and putting it up to the birthmark, causing all of them to look at me in shock.

"When did he do that?" Taylor asks while taking the magnifying glass out of my hand.

"Aiden?" I ask and she simply nods. "About six months before Maryanne was killed. I remember the prospective ownership that came with it. All of the memories that I never thought twice about, I remember all of it."

"Like what, Spence?" Ashley asks tentatively.

"Like about four days after he did this to me…" I say pointing to the brand. "I saw him talking to Mayor Jenkins. We were grabbing coffee and he went outside to talk to him." I sit back down next to Ashley and continue. "When I got back outside they were in the alley on the side of the building talking in hushed, angry tones and I learned two things that day. One, Aiden was involved in all of this underground crap going on around town; and two, Mayor Jenkins is his Uncle."

"Spencer, are you sure?" Sheriff Whitely asks desbelievingly.

"Yes. I'm positive. Not that Aiden would admit it. It's a deep family secret. They worked hard to hide it from everyone and outside of the family I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who knows."

"But I don't understand. Why keep a relative a secret?" Sheriff Whitely asks confused. "It just doesn't make sense."

I look over to him and then glance around the room briefly. I know that Ashley, Taylor, or Joe wouldn't know but I figured Sheriff Whitely may have put the pieces together with everything that has happened over the years. But I guess he was just simply being pushed around and forced to go one way or the other. I bet he never thought to actually look into someone's background.

"You really don't know?" I ask curiously to which he just shakes his head so I continue. "Sheriff, Mayor Jenkins is really Bobby Brewer, the West Side Kingpin who was suspected to be connected to 29 different murders in Bay Brook, otherwise known as the Bay Brook Massacre. He just knew too many people who covered his tracks for him."

He's processing the information. No doubt trying to decipher whether or not this information could be true or not, and I am not going to interrupt his process, but the thought of bringing all of their sins to light brings a smile to face. I sit back against the couch cushions and wait for his gaze to meet mine before continuing with a slight smile.

"Confusing right?" I ask and he just nods silently. "well…don't worry Sheriff. Tomorrow all of the pieces are going to start to fit."


	56. Chapter 42 Part 1: Getting Ready

**Here's another update for you. Sorry it took so long. I've been catching up on a lot of stuff at home. I separated this one into two parts because it's was getting a little long. Anywway here's part 1. Part 2 should be posted in the next couple days since I'm almost done with it. Hope you enjoy! and Thank you for all the feedback. When I have a little more time I will respond to it. **

**Oh and this is one of the few chapters where you will see Mayor Jenkins POV and let's just say he's not the nicest guy on the planet but his mind set is important considering a lot of this revolves around his actions. Just putting that out there :)**

* * *

**Chapter 42.1: Getting Ready**

**SPENCER'S POV**

I can see the light begin to come in through the window as I look to the clock on my nightstand to see that it's five thirty. I've been up for an hour. Just laying here with Ashley curled into my side. The calm of the morning has me completely relaxed while the nerves of what the day is about to bring stay buried deep inside me. To not be nervous in a situation like this would be almost unimaginable. Anything could happen. A million different things could go wrong. But I can't think about that. Nothing that I had set out to do has gone according to plan but this time only four people know what's about happen. And those four people are the only people that I trust right now.

Taylor, Jacqui, Joe, and Ashley are the only ones that I have faith in because they are the only ones who have stayed by my side. They are the only ones who have proven that our ties are stronger than the pull of evil. And I love all of them for it.

People say that blood binds you until death and no relationships will ever be stronger than the ones forged with those who share some semblance of your DNA. But I beg to differ. For me the relationships that are the strongest are the ones I have formed over the last ten years. It is those relationships that have allowed me to be myself and move past all of the anger that consumed me. It is those relationships that have saved me from myself when I hit rock bottom. And it is those relationships that will get me through the shit storm that has yet to come.

And while I will be the first to admit that my anger towards the people that hurt me most is still very much at the forefront of my thought process, there is nothing that will change the fact that I am undoubtedly a more controlled person than I was back then and now, more than ever, I believe in the fact that I have a reason to fight. I have a reason to live. And I have a reason to finish this without anyone else getting hurt because of a bunch of scared little drones.

But right now all I want to do is relax with Ashley curled into my side for as long as possible because yesterday was exhausting.

After my revelation Sheriff Whitely stayed for another hour or so asking me to explain how I knew Mayor Jenkins' buried secret. This town was harboring what most would consider a serial killer, but in the world of underground gangs, the only thing Jenkins is, is a businessman.

Anyway, I loosely explained to Sheriff Whitely how I obtained the information about Jenkins. I told him how I came across some information and cross-referenced it to find out its validity. Of course, I failed to mention that I was put onto Jenkins from information and documents in my father's journal. After all, I'm still not sure that he's a hundred percent trust worthy and I figure he's on a need to know basis right now and it's not really something that I think he needs to know at this time.

Maybe that will change but for right now everything needs to stay a close guarded secret. Besides it's not like he won't know what's going on when he stops to get his coffee this morning. And I figure that there's no harm in making him and this town wait another hour before everything starts being put on display. They made me wait ten years to get my say, so I think an hour shouldn't be much trouble.

The only thing that would make it better is if they knew ahead of time that I was up to something. And I guess on some level they have been waiting for this battle to begin. They have been waiting for me to put something into motion. And although I was going to wait until I had some more ammunition, I decided that with the information from the autopsy report that this would coincide perfectly with its release and move things along.

Now, I don't know how everyone's going to react to this. In fact I'm expecting different emotions from different people depending on your level of involvement. But I do know that words will most definitely be slung today and I'm going to have a front row seat just as soon as I get the courage to wake Ashley up from her serene state next to me. But it has to be like a sin to wake someone from such a seemingly peaceful slumber, especially when it's the person who has your heart no matter how much you try to deny it.

"You're gonna give yourself an aneurism." Ashley says huskily taking me away from my musings.

"And how's that exactly?" I say softly pulling her closer into me, running my hand through her hair as she lays her head on my chest.

"You're thinking too much." She says lifting her head to look at me. "And if you don't stop you're going to psyche yourself out and give yourself an aneurism and nothing good will come of it." She says seriously causing me to chuckle.

"I'm sure." I say leaning down and placing a soft kiss on her lips.

"I'm serious, Spencer." She says lifting her head up to look at me. "If you keep stressing yourself out you're going to end up hurting yourself and then I'm gonna be pissed because I don't…"

I crash my lips to hers, effectively cutting her off. I love that she genuinely cares about me and I love that she worries but the worrying isn't necessary. I just hope that my kiss can convey that to her because the last thing I want is for her to think that I'm going to lose my cool or get hurt in any way. It's important that she knows that on some level she gives me the strength I need to see this through the right way and that without her I probably would have just blown it all up prematurely without a care in the world as to the consequences that would follow. And I don't know if a simple kiss such as this can tell her all that or not but I hope that it at least conveys an inkling of it.

After a few minutes I pull back slowly when the need for oxygen becomes too much and wrap my arms more securely around her waist bringing her body flush with mine. It's comforting when she's impossibly close to me. It gives me a sense of clarity that would be otherwise unobtainable in a dire situation such as this. But it's the clarity that she unknowingly gives me that is allowing me to keep my cool.

"You're cute when you ramble." I say softly as my breathing evens out. She goes to say something but I place my index finger over her lips to stop her. "But I wasn't stressing…just thinking."

She takes a minute to search my eyes for any trace of a fabricated lie before she speaks in a tone that is just above a whisper.

"You promise?"

"I promise." I say firmly while placing a feather light kiss to her forehead. "You have this calming effect on me…" I say softly. "…and I was just enjoying the clam before we had to get up and face the real world."

Her grip on me tightens slightly at my words and I know that she can feel the blatant honesty of every word that I am telling her. She's letting it all sink in and the heaviness of the situation is a mere reflection of everything that is to come. But somehow our words and actions are making the promises of our future seem so much closer and within our grasp than ever before. And just the thought of making it out of this fairly unscathed makes every decision that I have made up until now, that much more satisfying.

After a few minutes she releases her grip on me and leans back to look at me with a smirk across her face which causes me to raise an eyebrow to her in question. Keeping her eyes locked on mine, she sits up and straddles me as her hands take up residence on my abs tracing small patterns on the exposed skin.

"You know." She says huskily as her hands leave goosebumps along every inch of skin that she touches. "We could always forget about the real world…" She leans forwards placing a soft kiss to my jaw. "Lock ourselves in here…" She places another kiss to the shell of my ear before biting down gently making a small moan escape my mouth and a flood of emotions to course through my veins. "And create our own reality." She bites down on the sensitive skin at the base of my neck before smoothing it over with her tongue causing me to squirm beneath her and crave her touch more than I already do.

She continues leaving a trail of kisses back along my jaw line before reattaching her mouth to mine in fiery kiss. Every emotion and feeling that we have towards each other is being poured into this kiss. I can feel everything that she is trying to tell me without words and I can only hope that she can feel everything that I am trying to tell her as well. In love, there is only one thing that matters. There is only one understanding that means everything. Because when you're in love you give all of you to another person and you never let go of the high of being someone else's everything as well.

My hands grip her hips as hers dig into my shoulders giving her some leverage while the friction that our movements are making ignites a fire within me. I want her. I need her. And I know that she wants and needs me just as much which just makes my hormones go insane at the thought of being with her. But then again it's always like that. I feel like I can never get enough of her. And it's crazy because it's not like we have known each other for very long. It's not like we have this grand history together that makes you go all soft at the mere mention of our names because the stories come rushing back to your mind.

No. It's not like that at all.

It's better because we've already made this unspoken commitment and yet we have so much to learn about each other that it only adds to the excitement of how far our love for one another can go. It's an adventure that's yet to be explored and that is the best kind of love to find yourself in with another person because the possibilities are endless with a story that has yet to be written.

She's started attacking my neck with her nips and feather-light kisses. Her tongue is soothing over the marked skin as my hands begin to trail up and down her back, no doubt branding her with my nails as our panty-clad centers come into contact with every move that we make. I am incredibly turned on and I know that she is too from the wetness I can feel with every touch. Our moans are filling the room as I go to move my hand down between our bodies…

_KNOCK…KNOCK… KNOCK_

FUCK! You've got to be kidding me!

Our heavy breathing is the only sound heard in the room. The frustration is oozing off of our bodies as we try to get our breathing under control. I close my eyes and hold her tight. For a minute I actually forgot what we were supposed to be doing. Everything just melted away and nothing existed except the two of us.

_KNOCK…KNOCK…KNOCK _

"Spencer! Get up! It's six thirty…we got shit to do!" Taylor yells through the door.

And just like that our perfect little bubble is smashed.

* * *

**MAYOR JENKIN'S POV**

Stupid…little…bitch. She should have just learned her place ten years ago and kept her mouth shut. She should've just stayed in line with the rest of these moronic, good for nothing peons. But no. She just had to crawl out of the hole that I threw her in and make a fucking point. She just had to pursue her pathetic attempt at redemption. And all because she finds herself to be this martyr when all anyone wants is for her to fall into a black hole for good.

Let's face it. No one in this damn town gives a shit about her. Her own family turned their backs on her in order to protect my better interest. And you would think that would have been a fucking clue. You would think that she would understand that she is nothing in the grand scheme of things and she should learn her place in this world before someone eliminates her for good.

But I can't just kill her. That wouldn't be very smart, especially with her father just suffering the same fate that she should have faced ten years ago if my nephew wasn't such a little pussy. Him and that wife of his are nothing but a waste of my fucking time. And they both crossed me. Both girls were marked for death and only one met their maker. That was an error in judgment that cannot be condoned. And I should have dealt with it years ago. But I guess it's just one more thing that I'm going to have to add to my clean-up list when the opportunity presents itself.

But I wonder if Kyla knows that my dear nephew is playing her like a puppet? I wonder if she knows that he is just as bad as me and only got involved with her to create separation from her inquiring sister. You see, Spencer was getting too close. She knew too much and she had to be eliminated. And the only one close enough to do it and get away with it was my nephew. He was supposed to eliminate her three different times. And each fucking time he froze. Stupid bastard. Bet he's regretting letting that bitch live now that his interests are in trouble. Fucking moron. He's no better than the rest of them.

In thirty years, I have never been surrounded by a bigger bunch of dumbasses than the people in this town. My father built this town. My father made this town what it is and they can't even follow simple fucking orders and requests. They can't even stick to the fucking game plan?! Are you kidding me! One sad, pathetic, little girl is not going to bring me down. She will not walk away from this in one piece even if I have to finish the job myself.

No…she has no idea who the fuck she's messing with. But….she will.

I interrupt my inner ramblings to double check my attire for the day in the full length mirror on the back of my bedroom door. I have to make sure that I look my absolute best because for better or worse I am the mayor of this decrepit town and appearance is everything. And of course, looking better than everyone else in this town gives me a reason to scowl at their poor excuses for a wardrobe.

Once I feel satisfied with my suit and tie of choice, a simple black suit with a blue shirt and blue and black striped tie, I make my way to the kitchen counter to grab my keys. As I reach for them I notice the clock on the stove reads seven thirty which means I have plenty of time to stop for coffee on my way into the office. God knows I'm going to need it.

As I make my way out the front door of my house my thoughts go back to the little pain in my ass otherwise known as Spencer Carlin. She is a problem that I'm going to have to take care of personally. And sooner rather than later. She knows too much. Not only about the dealings in this town, but also about who I really am in the family lineage sense. No one else outside of the family knows of my actual ties to this god forsaken town. But she does. She is very well aware of the fact that Aidan's father is my brother and she most definitely knows that I was involved in bigger things before I ended up here after my father died. Whether or not she knows exactly what those other dealings were is irrelevant because simply having the knowledge of the bloodline makes you a risk. Add the knowledge of knowing that some secrets are bigger than everyone else knows and it's a downright catastrophic situation that can only be dealt with in two ways. And seeing as how I don't see her joining the dark side any time soon, there is no other choice than to eliminate her from any and all equations.

After all, she's already been marked for this very reason. But as I said before it looks like I am going to have to be the one to carry out this task because everyone now knows that my moronic nephew is too much of a pansy to actually follow through on it. Which makes me wonder if he actually believes the submissive role that I have been having him play ever since Spencer was put in jail. After all, we couldn't have people thinking that he didn't care at all. That was a mess that needed some of my special touch since he screwed everything up months before it was to be carried out by sleeping with her whore of a sister. That poor, pitiful wench thinks that she's in control of his behavior. What a joke. I have Aidan playing her like the little puppet she is and it's working out quite nicely. And he's just dumb enough to believe that I have given him some semblance of power. Yeah right! I just thank Christ that Aidan hasn't let her in on our family secret yet. After all, it's not like anyone in this damn town can just be obedient and follow the simple fucking rules without chaos breaking out.

Do you see where my problem is? You see what I have to deal with? IDIOTS! Every last one of them!

* * *

**SPENCER'S POV**

"You ready to go?" Taylor says walking up behind me.

I place my coffee cup down on the table next to the morning paper before getting up and turning my attention to her.

"Yeah. Let's do it."

Me and Taylor make our way out the door while Jacqui and Joe stay at the apartment with Ashley. Apparently her replacement in the office is supposed to be here today. That should be fun. Although it will be better than having to deal with Christine every time I walk through the damn doors. But then again, Christine actually leaving town could just be wishful thinking on my part. Guess we'll just have to wait and see. Besides I have better things to do today like get down to the coffee shop in time to see Jenkins raggedy ass drain of life before everyone's eyes.

Today is bound for some fireworks. And honestly, I kinda feel like a little kid at Christmas. Watching that man's world fall apart around him is going to be the best kind of satisfaction. And by the looks of all the people in town this morning that I've seen since we got out the door, it's going to be one for the books.


End file.
